Bettera Brands, A Portfolio Company Of Highlander Partners, Expands Its Manufacturing Capabilities And Product Offerings With The Acquisition Of Nutravail

Dallas, TX /PRNewswire/ - Bettera Brands, LLC ("Bettera"), a portfolio company of Highlander Partners, L.P., announced today the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Nutravail, LLC ("Nutravail"). Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, Nutravail is a leading developer and manufacturer of health and wellness food products using its proprietary soft chew delivery systems and the low-temperature processing technology that it has pioneered. The acquisition gives Bettera, a leader in developing and manufacturing vitamins, minerals and supplements delivered in alternative confection forms, the ability to offer the full spectrum of delivery systems to its customers, including gummies, lozenges and chewables.

Nutravail has a strong legacy of innovation and was the first company to deliver active ingredients in a soft chew. Its patented low-temperature technology and unique process enable the incorporation of virtually any nutraceutical ingredients into the soft chew format and preservation of the ingredients' benefits without the deactivating effect of the usual high-temperature cooking process. With decades of food science experience and extensive research in the soft chew technology, Nutravail's product development group has unparalleled knowledge of ingredient interactions and has created hundreds of unique, customized formulas over the past decade.

Through multiple acquisitions and greenfield production, Highlander has built Bettera into a premier partner to well-established and emerging wellness brands across the world. Bettera's capabilities today include the development and manufacturing of vitamins, minerals and nutritional products in gummy and hard lozenge forms. Bettera has experienced numerous requests for the chewable delivery capabilities from its customer base and the acquisition of Nutravail allows Bettera to become a one-stop solution provider in the health and wellness sector with a full range of confectionary delivery mechanisms, including chewables, and further accelerate its robust growth with cross-pollination and new customer opportunities.

Nutravail's CEO Richard O'Neil will continue in a leadership position as President of the Nutravail division, within Bettera. He comments, "Nutravail has found the ideal partner in Bettera Brands. We are completely like-minded in our approach to working closely and collaboratively with our customers through the complexities of formulation, and in our commitment to service and quality. We look forward to sharing our product set with Bettera's customers and introducing Bettera's extensive capabilities to ours."

Jeff Partridge, Bettera's Chairman and CEO (and a Managing Director at Highlander), added, "We are very excited to have Rick and his team as part of the Bettera family. Nutravail's chewable capabilities will dramatically enhance our product offerings to our combined customers, which makes our importance to the wellness industry even more pervasive."

Jeff L. Hull, President and CEO of Highlander Partners, adds, "Nutravail is a perfect example of adding value through our buy-and-build approach. Bettera is uniquely positioned as a leading player in the wellness category and is enjoying strong growth as gummies and confection lozenges continue to take significant share of the large VMS category. Nutravail's innovative approach to soft chews will further enhance Bettera's product offerings. We intend to invest significantly in Nutravail's production capabilities in order to meet the growing demand in the health and wellness market and continue its long history of innovation."

About Nutravail
Nutravail is the world's premier soft chew supplier and a pioneer in alternative delivery systems. Nutravail partners with its customers to provide turn-key development and manufacturing, and its product development group formulates new soft chew products more effectively and efficiently than any player in the market. Each product is made customized to meet its customer preferences. For more information, visit www.nutravail.com.

About Highlander Partners, L.P.
Highlander Partners, L.P. is a Dallas-based private investment firm with approximately $2 billion of assets under management. The firm focuses on making investments in businesses in targeted industries in which the principals of the firm have significant operating and investing experience. Highlander employs a buy and build investment approach, creating value by helping companies grow organically and through acquisitions. For more information, visit www.highlander-partners.com