FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Picking an equity partner is an enormous decision. The following are some of the questions that tend to surface during our discussions with owners and management teams.

Q. What is Branch Brook's philosophy for working with fellow owners and management teams?

A. Branch Brook seeks partners that have demonstrated their capacity and passion to create great products. We view our role as complementing the existing team to fuel growth, while preserving a Company's existing culture. Our partnership provides companies with access to a great number of experts in the market to help inform strategic decision-making, while recognizing the critical role of company culture and product expertise in bringing the organization successfully to its next stage of growth.

Q. How do companies work with Branch Brook's partners?

A. We believe the Branch Brook structure offers smaller companies the best of both worlds – a small focused support team, with vast experience in the natural, organic and specialty products markets, together with access to the array of resources available to Swander Pace portfolio companies, as well as UNFI's top brands.

Q. Is my company too small/too big for Branch Brook to consider?

A. Branch Brook considers a wide range of companies that market products aligned with our investment criteria. Our determining factor in selecting investments is our assessment of the ability to leverage Branch Brook's unique assets (strategic, sales, distribution) to create value. Branch Brook looks for companies that have achieved market traction and have proven their ability to generate sufficient gross profit margins.

Q. Are Branch Brook portfolio companies distributed solely through UNFI?

A. Our partnership with UNFI is a tremendous resource to our portfolio companies, offering both distribution access and sales and marketing expertise. However, Branch Brook companies' utilize the distributors that best meet the needs and demands of their retail customers.

Q. What role does the entrepreneur or founder play after partnering with Branch Brook?

A. The role of the entrepreneur or founder is specific to each situation. Some choose to stay on in a leadership capacity, utilizing the resources available to them through Branch Brook to fuel the business' future growth. Others opt to carve out a specific role in the company that best utilizes his or her unique strengths, such as product innovation or product education. Still others choose to have no operating role and to serve in an advisory capacity. We believe in a flexible model that best serves the needs of the business and of the partners.