Unilever Flexes with Onnit Acquisition

Major food and beverage corporations are pumping up their portfolios with nutrition supplement companies.

British food, drink, and beauty product conglomerate Unilever is acquiring Onnit for an undisclosed sum. 

In addition to nutritional bars, powders, drinks, and supplements, Onnit sells workout equipment and “nootropics” like its Alpha Brain powder, which has purported benefits to one’s cognitive abilities.

The company joins Lipton, Heilman’s, Dove, Axe/Lynx, and many others under the very large Unilever umbrella, with its $94.1 billion in total assets.

Onnit has numerous celebrity and athlete endorsers, including podcast host and fighting enthusiast Joe Rogan, golfer Scott Stallings, Olympic skier Bode Miller, Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews, and several MMA and UFC fighters. 

Nutritional supplement companies have been hot lately.

• Nestle is in talks to acquire vitamin and nutrition supplement maker The Bountiful Company, adding it to a nutrition sector shopping spree over the last two years that has brought in Persona, Vital Proteins, and Freshly.
• Unilever has also been boosting its nutrition options, acquiring Horlicks, Liquid I.V., and SmartyPants Vitamins since the start of 2020.
• Bayer acquired nutrition company Care/Of last November.

These corporations may be trying to ride a rising wave: The nutritional supplement market is expected to nearly double from $151.9 billion this year to $272.4 billion in 2028, according to Grand View Research.