Private equity firm debuts snacks platform with popchips acquisition

VMG Partners, a private equity firm, has announced the debut of a new branded snacking platform, Velocity Snack Brands (VSB). The platform will acquire, incubate, and grow a portfolio of leading snack brands, beginning with the acquisition of the popchips brand in North America and most international markets outside of the United Kingdom and Europe.

VSB, along with other future VMG platform concepts, will house a portfolio of brands that meet an array of consumer needs and usage occasions, providing a single source for retailers across brick and mortar and digital channels. As part of a cohesive business model, VSB will provide founders and entrepreneurs of snacking brands the opportunity to build upon initial momentum while also creating a springboard for category-leading innovation and seamless omnichannel execution. In the years to come, VSB will invest broadly in snacking across salty, sweet, and nutrition bar categories, with popchips as the initial brand leading this endeavor.

“I couldn’t think of a better starting point for VSB than the acquisition of popchips,” said Wayne Wu, general partner at VMG Partners. “Building platforms in categories where VMG has been actively investing for nearly 15 years has been something we have been contemplating for some time and we are thrilled to kick off our first consumer products platform with popchips as a partner.”

As the inaugural brand under the platform, popchips will be led by VSB CEO Amit Pandhi. Prior to joining VSB, Pandhi served as president and CEO of Arctic Zero, a low-calorie ice cream, bootstrapping the brand from inception to becoming the No. 6 pint brand in the category. In his new role, Pandhi will provide data-driven execution and support to VSB brands, entrepreneurs, and founders as the portfolio of brands builds additional scale.

Press release