Sovos Brands, Berkeley, Calif., backed by Advent International, Boston, Mass., signed a merger agreement under which noosa yoghurt, LLC, Bellvue, Colo., will expand Sovos Brands into the yogurt category.

The transaction adds another brand to the Sovos portfolio, which also includes Michael Angelo's and Rao's Homemade.

noosa produces Aussie-style yogurt for the U.S. market.

"noosa fits perfectly into our portfolio of one-of-a-kind brands in the food and beverage sector, and we have been impressed by its compelling growth opportunities, attractive consumer demographics and talented employee base," says Todd Lachman, president and CEO of Sovos Brands. "noosa shares our unwavering commitment to authentic, delicious-tasting products using only the highest quality ingredients. Our team brings significant experience across food and beverage categories, and we see a number of attractive opportunities to grow the noosa brand, as we expand Sovos Brands into the yogurt category."

Sovos will guide noosa into its next phase of growth while remaining true to the brand's standard of making the finest yogurt with the finest ingredients.

"With the addition of noosa, Sovos will become a more powerful force in the food and beverage sector," says Bill Johnson, chairman of the noosa and Sovos boards of directors. "I've had a chance to work first-hand with the team at Sovos, and they bring a wealth of knowledge and capability that will help noosa continue to scale and grow its brand. As part of Sovos, noosa will continue to create the same great 'farm-to-fridge' products that consumers expect, and I'm excited about what our companies can achieve together."

Advent acquired a majority interest in noosa in November 2014, and has worked with the company's founders and management team to accelerate growth. Over the past four years, noosa has more than tripled its sales, market share and local production capacity in Bellvue, introduced more than 25 new flavors and sizes and increased distribution from 5,000 stores to 25,000 nationwide.   

"noosa's merger into Sovos is a clear and logical next step for both companies, as they share the same brand and customer-centric values and growth goals," says Jeff Case, managing director at Advent. "noosa has established itself as a market leader in the premium yogurt category, and we are confident that it will be well positioned for continued success as part of Sovos Brands. We look forward to working with Sovos to identify new growth opportunities across all their brands."