The Village Company acquires key brands from High Ridge Brands
The seven brands included in the deal are Soft & Dri, La Bella, Dep, Pure & Natural, Mink Difference, Adorn, and The Dry, which have been acquired from High Ridge for an undisclosed sum.
The acquisition expands and compliments the company’s existing portfolio which is focused on heritage brands, an also aims to enhance the offerings it has with big retail partners that include Amazon.
Acquisition of 'iconic' brands
"We are thrilled to acquire these iconic brands and to expand The Village Company portfolio of personal care products," said Paul Norton, CEO of The Village Company in a press statement announcing the acquisition.
"We look forward to integrating these brands into our organization and are excited about the potential that this acquisition brings to our company. The addition of these well-known items to our product line will increase our value to retail partners and enhance our offering to meet even more consumer needs."
Based in Minnesota and privately owned, The Village Company is a privately held personal care manufacturer that has been expanding rapidly off the back off the back of a small, diverse, but successful brand portfolio.
Sesame Street bath products in the portfolio
Currently that portfolio includes two top-selling children’s brands – Mr. Bubble and The Sesame Street bath products license, together with the Village Naturals Bath Shoppe, Village Naturals Therapy and the Village Naturals Aromatherapy lines.
The portfolio is mainly comprised of heritage brands that have been established since the 1950s and 60s, but in recent years the company has bought the brands up and developed them through a successful retail distribution that has included mammoth online retailer Amazon.
Indeed, the company has had an interesting history, having originally been set up in 1964 as Minnetonka, a small business that sold soft soaps, hitting its peak in 1980 when it acquired the license rights to Calvin Klein Cosmetics.
It was eventually sold to the Palmolive-Colgate company in 1987, then acquired by Unilever in 1989, before it was reacquired by former Minnetonka executives in 1995 and eventually renamed The Village Company in 2005.
That retail footprint also extends to leading retailers in the food, drug, mass and beauty channels throughout the United States.
