Freshii is set to acquire a majority stake in Natura Market for $5.7 million CAD. In this deal, Freshii has agreed to acquire 60 percent of Natura’s outstanding shares at closing with rights to purchase the remaining 40 percent by Q1 2025.
Launched in late 2016 by Shakhzod Khabibov, Natura is an online health and wellness retailer that provides clean food options such as ketogenic, paleo, whole360, gluten-free, and vegan items selected from over 200 brands.
Khabibov will continue his role as president of Natura Market, as the company will be acting as a standalone business unit with shared services support from Freshii. The company claims it has accumulated over $19 million in sales over the last 12 months and has no debt.
“The acquisition of Natura Market ensures that Freshii is well-positioned to meet the next generation of customers where they are.”
A board of directors composed of senior management at both companies will be overseeing Natura’s business; Matthew Corrin, founder and CEO of Freshii, will chair this board.
Although the acquisition deal will maintain Freshii and Natura’s independent operations, both companies are looking to “take advantage of the synergies that exist between them.” Freshii said it plans to use the insight that Natura’s sales data will provide to aid the company in identifying early-stage food and beverage trends to support Freshii’s restaurant and consumer-packaged goods (CPG) product innovation.
Since its inception in 2005, Freshii has opened 384 restaurants in 14 countries, and has expanded its lineup of CPG across hundreds of retailers. Its restaurant business offers a customizable menu of breakfast, soups, salads, wraps, bowls, burritos, frozen yogurt, juices, and smoothies. Most recently, the company has expanded its services to offer nutritional supplement products in-store and through its online retail site.
According to Freshii, the acquisition will support the company’s mission in opening up another channel where its customers can access healthy products in a convenient and cost-efficient way.
In a report by Brandessence, it found that the wider adoption of healthy eating habits is one of the leading driving factors fueling the growth of the global health food market as it is forecasted to grow with a CAGR of 4.91 percent from 2021 to 2027.
“The way people access health and wellness is evolving,” said Corrin. “The acquisition of Natura Market ensures that Freshii is well-positioned to meet the next generation of customers where they are.”
