- HQ: Boulder, CO
- Category: Brands
- Investment: Sold to ConAgra Brands
Thanasi Foods is a marketer of protein-based snacking products under the Duke’s meat snacks and BIGS seeds brands.
Duke’s is a fast-growing premium meat snack brand, with products including Duke’s Smoked Shorty Sausages and Duke’s Steak & Brisket Strips. Duke’s products are made in small batches with quality ingredients and authentic hardwood smoke pairings. BIGS produces a line of premium seed snacks, including jumbo in-shell sunflower seeds, sunflower seed kernels and roasted pumpkin seeds. BIGS partners with some of America’s most-loved brands to bring big, bold flavor to seeds.
Encore provided Thanasi with growth capital and partial liquidity for existing shareholders. The founder maintained a significant minority share of the Company.
Investment Period Highlights
- Strategic guidance in repositioning of the Duke’s smoked meat snacks brand based on high flavor and fresh ingredients
- Broadened product offering by assisting with launch of new pumpkin seed SKUs and sunflower kernel products for BIGS, new 3-pack and 1-pound Shorty Sausages for Duke’s
- Team building, placing executives in operations and marketing from the Encore network
- Development of relationships with likely strategic buyers (ConAgra, Hershey, Hormel, Amplify, Mondelez) early on in ownership period
- As largest shareholder, go-to advisors to founder and CEO
- Revenues nearly doubled during 25-month investment period
Encore was a key strategic partner for me and our team at Thanasi. From providing liquidity to some of my early investors, to being in the trenches with me when it came to building out our team and maximizing our potential as people and brands. An ideal partnership that helped solidify our strategic sale to Conagra!
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