The deal serves as another example of the attractiveness of the dietary ingredients industry for private investors as well as the continuing interest in spore-forming probiotics.
Deerland is a developer, formulator and manufacturer of dietary supplements featuring enzymes and probiotics. The company recently opened a 30,000 sq ft probiotic facility at its Kennesaw, GA headquarters.
The crown jewel in Deerland’s probiotic crown is its DE111 strain, which recently received non-GMO Project verification as well as an approval from Health Canada. DE111 is a proprietary strain of Bacillus subtilis, which along with Bacillus coagulans are among the spore forming probiotics generating the most development buzz in the dietary ingredients space.
RoundTable also has an investment in Santa Cruz Nutritionals, a producer of gummies. Santa Cruz was previously part of the portfolio of Swander Pace Capital, the private equity firm that purchased online retailer Swanson.
“Deerland has a unique position in the rapidly growing probiotic and enzyme markets,” said David J. Koo, senior partner at RoundTable. “Our familiarity with the nutritional supplements industry, and experience with contract development and manufacturing organizations, will help us play a value-added role in supporting the growth of Deerland.”
The details of the RoundTable investment in Deerland were not disclosed.