UFit has engaged investment bankers to explore strategic options as the dairy drinks brand seeks to ramp up growth with expansion into new categories and overseas markets.
Advisors at Stamford Partners have sent out a teaser document to a range of potential buyers and investors.
The business – founded in 2013 by Terry Adams, Austin Bailey and Hugh Miller – confirmed to The Grocer it was weighing up the potential introduction of a new partner to accelerate growth plans.
A City source said the rapidly growing brand would likely be of interest to the main players in the category such as Arla, which makes ready-to-drink milk-based coffees under licence from Starbucks, Yazoo owner Friesland Campina and Frijj maker Müller, as well as big drinks groups looking to diversify their portfolios.
Marketing director Terry Adams told The Grocer: “Over the past 12 months the UFit brand has delivered outstanding growth and now stands as the market leader in RTD protein shakes.
“UFit is now the No.1 brand almost everywhere it is stocked.”
He added: “We are very excited about our forward growth trajectory, with some amazing new listings coming out in early 2022, stretching the brand into new categories and new geographies, all while being supported by strong tailwinds of the new HFSS guidelines and broad appeal of the UFIT brand.”
Despite the explosion in demand for plant-based alternatives, the dairy drinks market remained in healthy growth over the past year. Sales of the category soared almost 20% to £271m in the 52 weeks to 16 May 2021 [Kantar] as at-home consumption more than offset the decline in on-the-go.
UFit has benefitted from its high protein, fat free and no-added sugar drinks as health moved to a more central concern for shoppers in the past 18 months, with high sugar competitors such as Frijj and Mars struggling.
The brand has built a wide distribution network with space in chillers in the Big Four mults, Lidl and Booths, as well as in forecourts and across the c-store market with Nisa, Budgens, Londis, Spar, McColl’s and Spar.
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