CANNON FALLS, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sweet Harvest Foods, a leading natural sweeteners platform and one of the largest honey packers in North America, has announced the purchase of Nature Nate’s Honey Co. (“Nature Nate’s”) from its founder, Nathan Sheets. Based in McKinney, Texas, Nature Nate’s has grown to become the largest honey brand in the U.S. and is the leading provider of 100% pure, raw & unfiltered honey in the retail segment. Nature Nate’s will merge with Sweet Harvest as part of the Blue Road Capital portfolio, an independent private equity firm making control investments in agricultural production and supply chain companies.
The purchase of Nature Nate’s is the culmination of a passion-filled journey for Nathan “Nature Nate” Sheets. Sheets founded Nature Nate’s in 1997 with a commitment to introduce raw & unfiltered honey to the country while helping people through meaningful employment and a grow-to-give business model. During the past 24 years, Sheets’ leadership helped build raw & unfiltered honey into a subcategory that accounts for 37 percent of today’s U.S. honey category. Meanwhile, Nature Nate’s has donated millions through the company’s Honey Gives Hope initiative.
“Nature Nate’s success demonstrates the value of putting people and the highest-quality products first. It’s our vision to continue as the most trusted honey company,” said Nathan Sheets. “Sweet Harvest and Blue Road believe in that vision, bring expertise in natural foods and agricultural markets and enable us to grow the honey category at an accelerated pace. We’re excited to join Sweet Harvest and create a collaboration that will benefit our consumers and retailers by making premium honey accessible to every home in the country.”
“Sweet Harvest and Nature Nate’s teams align well, from our mission to grow the honey category, to our standards in quality honey, to our company cultures,” said Ken Stickevers, CEO of Sweet Harvest. “I look forward to working with Nate and his team to merge the best insights and practices from each organization to rapidly accelerate the honey and natural sweetener market with our customers.”
About Sweet Harvest Foods
Serving some of the best-known manufacturers, distributors and retailers in the food industry, Sweet Harvest Foods is one of the country’s largest packers of 100% pure all-natural honey. As a worldwide leader in the sourcing and distribution of natural sweeteners, Sweet Harvest Foods provides consistent, verifiable quality and operational flexibility with facilities in Minnesota, California and Michigan. For more information, visit www.sweetharvestfoods.com.
About Nature Nate’s Honey Co.
Nature Nate’s Honey Co. is the number-one branded honey in the U.S. and dedicated to offering honey as nature intended – 100% Pure, Raw & Unfiltered. Arriving in its most natural form, this honey is closest to its original provision from the hive. Nature Nate’s adheres to strict quality-control standards, sourcing honey from trusted beekeepers and minimally processing it to ensure the honey retains all its natural benefits. Nature Nate’s promises an undivided commitment to providing the highest-quality product to you and your family’s dining table – a farmer’s market quality honey, available year-round. For more information, visit www.naturenates.com.
About Blue Road Capital
Blue Road is an independent private equity firm focused on the acquisition and development of agricultural-focused businesses. Blue Road makes control investments in Americas-based agricultural and food / ingredient supply chain and production companies, partnering with management teams to build enterprise value beyond intrinsic underlying asset value. Blue Road’s management partners have an extensive track record of over 70 combined years investing in private equity and agriculture-focused businesses, including having raised and invested over $2.5 billion in equity in companies across the agriculture value chain, from production, processing, storage and logistics to marketing and distribution. Contact: info@blueroad.com or 212-822-9710.
