Cadbury maker Mondelez scoops up ‘Carb Killa’ in healthy push

US snacks maker Mondelez has agreed to acquire sports nutrition brand Grenade, its first UK acquisition since chocolate company Cadbury as it seeks to diversify into health-focused products.

Grenade makes the Carb Killa bar, which Mondelez said has been the UK’s bestselling protein bar since 2016.

The group is buying a “significant majority interest” in the 11-year-old company from private equity firm Lion Capital in a deal that values Grenade at around £200m, according to people briefed on the acquisition.

“Performance nutrition and low sugar options are becoming mainstream,” said Clive Jones, president for northern Europe at Mondelez. “This reflects the intention of Mondelez to build a broader portfolio to stretch across snacking and particularly move into high-growth wellbeing segments.”

The acquisition follows Mondelez’s purchase two years ago of US-based Perfect Snacks, which makes refrigerated protein bars, for $284m.

Mondelez, which was spun out from Kraft in 2012, owns brands such as Oreo cookies, Ritz crackers, and Toblerone chocolate, but its chief executive Dirk van de Put said last year that it wanted to acquire healthier snack brands as consumers seek out nutritious products and investors and governments urge action on obesity.

Solihull-based Grenade, which exports to more than 50 countries, is Mondelez’s first acquisition in the UK since it was spun out from Kraft; while still part of Kraft it bought Cadbury in 2010.

Grenade was founded by married couple Alan and Juliet Barratt in 2010 and launched a weight loss supplement now known as Thermo Detonator.

It later branched out into protein bars, along with shakes, spreads, energy drinks, ice cream and cookies with distinctive military-style branding and publicity stunts involving tanks. Almost a quarter of its products are currently sold online.

It was bought by Lion Capital from fellow private equity firm Grovepoint in 2017 for £72m and posted revenues of £51.7m in 2019, the latest year for which figures are available, which were up 37.4 per cent from a year earlier. 

Mondelez said it would continue to operate Grenade separately with Alan Barratt as chief executive, with senior management retaining an equity interest in the group which employs 83 people. Mondelez will seek to expand its product range.

Barratt said his products were “not just for gym bunnies, it’s broader than that . . . it’s not necessarily about training, it’s just about having a better relationship with food”. He said he wanted Grenade to become an “iconic brand available globally”.

The UK is set to crack down on supermarket promotions and online advertising of junk foods in a fresh attempt to tackle obesity. It is one of many governments globally looking at such measures, putting pressure on manufacturers of sugary snacks.