TSG Consumer Partners, a private equity firm known for its profitable investment in a number of food and beverage companies including Vitaminwater and Voss Water, has sold its stake in San Francisco-based Pop Chips to Verlinvest, a Belgian-based private equity group. Pop Chips has a number of beverage investors, including Rohan Oza of Vitaminwater fame.
Verlinvest was founded to manage the family wealth created by Interbrew (now Anheuser Busch InBev), and has a recent history of success with investments in a number of entrepreneurial beverage companies including Vita Coco, Hint, and Sambazon. Though the exact numbers have not been disclosed, the purchase of TSG’s stake in PopChips is thought to be one of Verlinvest’s largest deals ever.
However, the significance of the deal has implications beyond simple financials. Pop Chips’ growth strategy is based heavily on working with DSD beverage distributors. The company is currently partnered with DSD houses across the U.S. including Crescent Beverage in New Jersey, New Age Beverage in Colorado and Classic Distributing in Southern California.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Ken Sadowsky as an investor in PopChips. He is not.