Private Equity firm Everstone has decided to acquire Cookie Man brand from Australian Foods. Cookie Man was the first fresh baked premium cookie brand to enter the Indian market in 2000.
The Everstone Group's packaged foods platform, Everfoods has entered into an agreement to acquire Cookie Man (Australian Foods India Private Limited), via its subsidiary Modern Food Enterprises Pvt Ltd (MFEL). The company did not disclose the deal value.
Anupam Saluja, CEO, Cookie Man, and the current leadership team, will continue to work with the Modern and Everstone leadership.
Chennai-headquartered Cookie Man is a manufacturer and retailer of Australian cookies and bakery products such as muffins, ice creams, brownies, chocolates. It currently has a network of 50 plus stores/kiosks in leading malls and airports present in over 20 cities across India.
As a part of the acquisition, Everfoods also gets exclusive rights to own and operate the brand and other related intellectual property not only in India but also in adjoining countries of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Mauritius.
Deep Mishra, Managing Director, Everstone Group, who leads the investments and acquisition strategy for Everfoods said that Cookies are the fastest growing segment in the biscuits category, and the segment is expected to continue to grow at a double-digit rate in the coming years.
"Cookie Man, with its premium and authentic cookies positioning and an extremely strong equity base is a good fit for Everfoods and especially Modern. This is the first of many acquisitions in the core and adjacent spaces that we are evaluating and looking to close.”
Previously, Everstone Group via Everfoods completed the acquisition of the iconic ‘Modern’ brand from Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) in 2016 and has also built a state of the art R&D facility in Chennai.