Impact Capital, the private equity group of Mike Repole’s family office, announced it has acquired a majority stake in Junkless Foods. Repole, a serial entrepreneur with a track record of building and selling profitable businesses, and his team, will partner with Junkless founders Ernie Pang and Larry Beyer to help the better-for-you chewy granola bar become the go-to choice in the category. The entire team shares a vision to build the Junkless brand into the next billion-dollar healthy snack platform.

Repole is familiar with the snack food business. In between co-founding beverage brands Vitaminwater and Bodyarmor (which sold to The Coca-Cola Company for $4 billion and $8 billion respectively), he bought a majority stake in Pirate’s Booty. Over a four-year period, Repole and his team reportedly made Pirate’s Booty a household name through rebranding, a strategic sales strategy, partnerships, and innovation, quadrupling sales, and ultimately selling the company to B&G Foods. Repole was also a major early investor and board member in KIND, prior to its sale to Mars in 2020.

According to the company, Junkless products are made with clean and simple ingredients,  with nothing artificial. They are designed to provide a healthier alternative to the sugar-loaded, over-processed snacks and bars currently on the market.

“We have poured our heart and soul into getting Junkless to where it is today, but we knew we needed something more to take us to the next level,” says Pang. “We could not have asked for better partners in Mike and the Impact Team, who share our passion for Junkless see the incredible potential of our brand, and know how to get us there.”

In Junkless, the Impact team reportedly saw tremendous potential for the better-for-you bars to become a leading national brand, with incredible room for growth through innovation and distribution. “We saw a huge opportunity for Junkless to become a major brand. Everyone is looking for better-for-you versions of their favorite snacks, and that’s exactly what Junkless provides, says Repole. “The passion of Ernie, Larry, and the entire Junkless team combined with our experience growing small brands into scalable mainstream brands, is a perfect match.”