GREENWICH, Conn., LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. and NEW YORK, Nov. 2,
2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Chopt Creative Salad Company
("Chopt" or "the Company"), a pioneer in the fast casual salad
segment, today announced that Catterton, the leading
consumer-focused private equity firm, led a significant investment
in the Company, joined by The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:
HAIN), a leading organic and natural products company. This
unique partnership represents three best-in-class specialists with
a shared vision for how Americans will eat in the future -
combining Catterton's deep experience in the restaurant and
consumer space, the strength of Hain Celestial's innovation and
leadership position in natural foods and the lines-out-the-door
popularity of Chopt salads and craveable dressings. Terms of the
transaction were not disclosed.
"I have had the great opportunity to get to know the Catterton
team through their other restaurant investments, serving on the
board of Mendocino Farms Sandwich Market with Catterton Partner Jon
Owsley, and I have long been impressed with their strategic
approach to building great brands," said Nick Marsh, Chief Executive Officer of Chopt.
"Similarly, Hain Celestial has been a critical partner to
Chopt for years. In support of our belief that 'Better Tastes
Better', Chopt was one of the first restaurant companies in our
segment to serve natural antibiotic-free Free-Bird® Chicken,
BluePrint® Juice, Terra® Chips and other Hain Celestial
products. They have demonstrated a commitment to natural,
local and organic food that matches the Chopt philosophy. We look
forward to adding more of their products to our restaurants. As a
team, we believe that this group can grow Chopt in unique
ways."
Founded in 2001 by Tony Shure and
Colin McCabe, Chopt is a leader in
the rapidly expanding fast casual salad category, with 32
restaurants in New York,
Washington, D.C., and North
Carolina. In a statement, Shure and McCabe said, "We created
Chopt 15 years ago with the vision that salad restaurants could
find a place in the fast food landscape. We aspired to
reinvent salad in an exciting and flavorful way in the effort to
recruit people into eating a more balanced diet without sacrificing
flavor or convenience. We thought salad and vegetables had
the ability to fix what was broken in traditional fast food.
We are on a quest to explore the world's most craveable
seasonal ingredients, best local farmers markets and craftiest
neighborhood specialists. These are the people and places
that inspire us to take salad places it has never gone before.
We are extremely excited to continue this journey with
Catterton and Hain Celestial as our partners as their passion is as
unlimited as our own."
"We are excited about the alignment of culture and vision
between Hain Celestial, Catterton and Chopt and the tremendous new
opportunities that this partnership creates," said Irwin D. Simon, Founder, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Hain Celestial. "Whether it is
innovating new products to bring to in-store or retail
distribution, learning about our shared customers, or the
opportunity to support Chopt growth with additional Hain Celestial
brands, our partnership with Chopt represents a continuation of
Hain Celestial's mission to provide its consumers with 'A Healthier
Way of Life™' and further supports our continued leadership in
the organic and natural area. We are also pleased to be
expanding our out-of-home product offerings, as Millennials and
other consumers increasingly are seeking more wholesome dining
experiences away from home. We look forward to partnering
with Nick, Tony, Colin and the Catterton team to help support
Chopt's growth and expansion."
"Chopt's flavor-forward approach to delivering fantastic,
high-quality, craveable offerings has made it the leader in the
fast casual salad category," said Jon
Owsley, a Partner at Catterton. "Nick, Tony and Colin
are three of the most innovative and dynamic leaders in the
restaurant space today, with a unique vision to change the future
of fast food. We are excited to partner with the team and
with Hain Celestial, a leader in the natural and organic movement,
and look forward to a great partnership."
About Chopt
Chopt Salad, the massively popular, lines-out-the door salad
concept was created in 2001 by best friends Tony Shure and Colin
McCabe. Chopt has 32 restaurants in New York, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, and North Carolina. For
information about Chopt, visit www.choptsalad.com.
About Catterton
Catterton is the leading consumer-focused private equity firm with
more than $4.0 billion currently
under management and a twenty-six year track record of success in
building high growth companies. Since its founding in 1989,
Catterton has leveraged its category insight, strategic and
operating skills, and network of industry contacts to establish one
of the strongest private equity investment track records in the
middle market. Catterton invests in all major consumer segments,
including Food and Beverage, Retail and Restaurants, Consumer
Products and Services, Consumer Health, and Media and Marketing
Services. Catterton's investments include: Restoration Hardware,
CorePower Yoga, Sweaty Betty, Outback Steakhouse, Plum Organics,
Mendocino Farms, Noodles & Company, PIADA, Hopdoddy, Protein
Bar, Bruxie, Snap Kitchen, Frederic
Fekkai, Baccarat, PIRCH, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Wellness pet
food, Nature's Variety pet food, Kettle Foods, Odwalla and
P.F. Chang's, to name a few. More
information about Catterton can be found at catterton.com.
About The Hain Celestial Group,
Inc.
The Hain Celestial Group (Nasdaq: HAIN), headquartered in
Lake Success, NY, is a leading
organic and natural products company with operations in
North America, Europe and India. Hain Celestial
participates in many natural categories with well-known brands that
include Celestial Seasonings®, Earth's Best®, Ella's Kitchen®,
Terra®, Garden of Eatin'®, Sensible Portions®, Health Valley®,
Arrowhead Mills®, MaraNatha®, SunSpire®, DeBoles®, Casbah®, Rudi's
Organic Bakery®, Gluten Free Cafe™, Hain Pure Foods®, Spectrum®,
Spectrum Essentials®, Walnut Acres Organic®, Imagine®, Almond
Dream®, Rice Dream®, Soy Dream®, WestSoy®, The Greek Gods®,
BluePrint®, FreeBird®, Plainville Farms®, Empire®, Kosher Valley®,
Yves Veggie Cuisine®, Europe's
Best®, Cully & Sully®, New Covent Garden Soup Co.®, Johnson's
Juice Co.®, Farmhouse Fare®, Hartley's®, Sun-Pat®, Gale's®,
Robertson's®, Frank Cooper's®, Linda
McCartney®, Lima®, Danival®, Joya®, Natumi®, GG UniqueFiber®,
Tilda®, JASON®, Avalon Organics®, Alba Botanica®, Live Clean® and
Queen Helene®. Hain Celestial has been providing A Healthier
Way of Life™ since 1993. For more information, visit
www.hain.com.
Contacts:
For Chopt/Catterton:
Andi Rose/Jon
Keehner/Julie Oakes
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer
Katcher
212-355-4449
For Hain Celestial:
Mary
Anthes
516-587-5000
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visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/chopt-creative-salad-company-receives-significant-investment-from-catterton-and-hain-celestial-300170082.html
SOURCE Chopt Creative Salad Company; Catterton; The Hain
Celestial Group, Inc.