Key Takeaways
- • Stride Consumer Partners acquired Clio Snacks, a refrigerated Greek yogurt bar maker, from Alliance Consumer Growth. The source does not disclose deal terms.
- • Clio's chocolate-coated yogurt bars are stocked in roughly 60,000 stores nationwide across grocery, mass, and club channels, and the Clio brand ranks ninth on Instacart's list of top-selling Greek yogurt brands.
- • Clio operates a single 86,000-square-foot facility in Piscataway, New Jersey, and expects to produce more than 150 million bars this year.
- • The acquisition follows Stride's close of its oversubscribed second fund at its $550 million hard cap and extends the firm's position in better-for-you snacking, a category it entered with its 2022 investment in Chomps.
- • Clio's refrigerated handheld format differentiates it from frozen Greek yogurt bars such as Yasso, which now sits within The Magnum Ice Cream Company, and from yogurt cups and drinkables sold by competitors like Chobani.
Summary
Stride Consumer Partners has acquired Clio Snacks, a refrigerated Greek yogurt bar maker, from Alliance Consumer Growth. Clio makes snack bars built around strained Greek yogurt and coated in chocolate, sold in the dairy aisle as a grab-and-go alternative to a candy bar. Its flagship Original bars pair a cheesecake-like center with a chocolate shell in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors. The product line also includes Minis, bite-size bars sold in multipacks; a Zero Sugar line; and Drizzled bars, which contain real fruit under a chocolate drizzle.
According to the source, Clio's products are stocked in roughly 60,000 stores through grocery, mass, and club retailers. The company manufactures at a single 86,000-square-foot facility in Piscataway, New Jersey, and expects to make more than 150 million bars this year. The brand ranks ninth on Instacart's list of top-selling Greek yogurt brands. The source does not disclose the purchase price or other financial terms of the transaction.
Clio competes in what marketers call "permissive indulgence," a category of better-for-you snacks positioned as substitutes for candy and ice cream, with protein, probiotics, or lower sugar meant to make a sweet treat easier to justify. Strained Greek yogurt has anchored this pitch in the dairy case for more than a decade, and brands have extended it into bars, bites, and frozen novelties. Clio's refrigerated format sets it apart from frozen Greek yogurt bars such as Yasso, while yogurt makers like Chobani compete mainly in cups and drinkable yogurt.
Clio was founded in 2015 by Sergey Konchakovskiy, and John McGuckin joined as chief executive officer in 2021. Alliance Consumer Growth led the company's $8 million funding round in 2020. Stride's investment was led by Partner Juan Marcos Hill and Vice President Emma Greenwood. Mr. Hill said the firm had sought to partner with Clio for years, citing the brand's differentiated positioning in the "permissive indulgence" snacking space. Ms. Greenwood said the firm "jumped at the opportunity to partner with the Clio team and support the company as it scales." Mr. McGuckin said Stride's resources and support would help the company build on its momentum.
The deal comes days after Stride closed its second fund, which was oversubscribed and reached its $550 million hard cap. Stride, founded in 2021 and headquartered in Boston, invests in consumer "passion brands" across beauty and personal care, food and beverage, active lifestyle, and multi-unit consumer services. Its portfolio includes Chomps, Skinfix, Odele, Patrick Ta Beauty, Serenity Kids, Crown Affair, Peachy, and Truewerk. The Clio investment deepens the firm's exposure to better-for-you snacking, which it first entered in January 2022 with its backing of Chomps, a Florida-based meat stick maker then sold in more than 18,000 stores.
According to the source, Clio's products are stocked in roughly 60,000 stores through grocery, mass, and club retailers. The company manufactures at a single 86,000-square-foot facility in Piscataway, New Jersey, and expects to make more than 150 million bars this year. The brand ranks ninth on Instacart's list of top-selling Greek yogurt brands. The source does not disclose the purchase price or other financial terms of the transaction.
Clio competes in what marketers call "permissive indulgence," a category of better-for-you snacks positioned as substitutes for candy and ice cream, with protein, probiotics, or lower sugar meant to make a sweet treat easier to justify. Strained Greek yogurt has anchored this pitch in the dairy case for more than a decade, and brands have extended it into bars, bites, and frozen novelties. Clio's refrigerated format sets it apart from frozen Greek yogurt bars such as Yasso, while yogurt makers like Chobani compete mainly in cups and drinkable yogurt.
Clio was founded in 2015 by Sergey Konchakovskiy, and John McGuckin joined as chief executive officer in 2021. Alliance Consumer Growth led the company's $8 million funding round in 2020. Stride's investment was led by Partner Juan Marcos Hill and Vice President Emma Greenwood. Mr. Hill said the firm had sought to partner with Clio for years, citing the brand's differentiated positioning in the "permissive indulgence" snacking space. Ms. Greenwood said the firm "jumped at the opportunity to partner with the Clio team and support the company as it scales." Mr. McGuckin said Stride's resources and support would help the company build on its momentum.
The deal comes days after Stride closed its second fund, which was oversubscribed and reached its $550 million hard cap. Stride, founded in 2021 and headquartered in Boston, invests in consumer "passion brands" across beauty and personal care, food and beverage, active lifestyle, and multi-unit consumer services. Its portfolio includes Chomps, Skinfix, Odele, Patrick Ta Beauty, Serenity Kids, Crown Affair, Peachy, and Truewerk. The Clio investment deepens the firm's exposure to better-for-you snacking, which it first entered in January 2022 with its backing of Chomps, a Florida-based meat stick maker then sold in more than 18,000 stores.
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