MadeGood Granola Owner Reaches Unicorn Status After Deal

Riverside Natural Foods, the Canadian owner of MadeGood granola bars and bites, has achieved unicorn status through a recent deal.

Prelude Growth Partners agreed to sell its minority stake in Riverside back to the Fotovat family, which launched the company 13 years ago, according to a statement reviewed by Bloomberg News. While financial terms weren’t disclosed, the deal makes Riverside a unicorn, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Reaching unicorn status means a private company has achieved a valuation of $1 billion or more.

Prelude, a so-called growth-equity investor that took the stake four years ago, is exiting after helping MadeGood’s healthy snacks become ubiquitous throughout the US. The family-friendly brand’s granola bars and granola bites are now available in every US state at 35,000 stores, including Costco Wholesale Corp., Walmart Inc. and Target Corp.

With Prelude’s support, Riverside built out its leadership team, entered new retail partnerships and scaled its manufacturing footprint, according to Riverside President Nima Fotovat, who co-founded the Toronto-based company with his sisters Sahba and Salma. This deal gives them full ownership again.

The transaction is among Prelude’s most successful ever, according to Neda Daneshzadeh, co-founder of the New York-based firm.

Riverside’s products are free of the top nine allergens and made entirely at its facilities in Canada, Daneshzadeh said.

“We saw it appealing to this new generation of moms who wants to feed, better-for-you food in her kids’ snack box and after school and also eating it herself,” Daneshzadeh said in an interview.

She reached out to the Fotovats about five years ago to see if they’d be open to their first outside investor. It made sense to sell back the stake now since the company plans to stay family owned and independent, she said.

Prelude, which targets founder-owned and family-owned businesses in consumer goods, typically invests $20 million to $100 million per deal. Founded in 2017, the firm raised $600 million last year for its latest fund.