Monogram Capital Partners, a consumer-focused private equity firm, announced it has reacquired Western Smokehouse Partners, a contract manufacturer of better-for-you meat sticks. This marks Monogram's 39th investment.

Monogram initially invested in Western Smokehouse, a 40-year, family-held business, in 2018, and expanded it from one to three facilities, growing EBITDA nearly five times over the period. In 2023, Monogram sold a majority stake to AUA Private Equity while retaining a minority interest. Jared Stein, co-founder of Monogram and chairman of the Board at Western, stayed on the board for strategic guidance. After continued success and expansion under AUA’s stewardship over the ensuing two years, which grew the company’s footprint to five facilities, Monogram approached AUA to reacquire the business. The two firms worked collaboratively to effectuate the transaction. 

“Western Smokehouse exemplifies everything we seek in an investment. It is a family-owned business with a tremendous market growth opportunity, in an area of the supply chain that is incredibly difficult to scale while maintaining quality,” says Stein. “High-protein meat snacks is the fastest growing category we’ve seen in grocery.

“We identified the opportunity to leverage our deep CPG experience across both brands and manufacturers and our strategic retail partnerships to accelerate Western Smokehouse’s growth. By expanding capacity we’re helping to meet the surging consumer demand in market and fueling Western’s next significant wave of expansion.”

Backed by strong consumer trends favoring high-protein, low-sugar, and on-the-go snacks–further amplified by GLP-1-driven health awareness–Western Smokehouse’s positioning has only strengthened. With Monogram’s most recent investment, Western Smokehouse is expanding to seven facilities by the end of 2025 to keep up with rising customer demand. Over the last five years, sales have increased more than sevenfold, bolstered by commercialization of breakthrough product innovation, including zero-sugar sticks and mini sticks, and the strength of partnerships with brands such as Chomps and Archer. Strategic M&A, building upon Western’s proven technical expertise in meat snack manufacturing, will remain a focus of Monogram’s value creation efforts, it says.

“Monogram has been an essential partner in our growth journey, and we’re well-positioned to build on our success together,” says Matt Bormann, CEO of Western Smokehouse Partners. “We’re poised to double our production capacity over the next year, and Monogram’s strategic and operational support will be critical as we scale to meet growing demand.”

David Benyaminy, partner at AUA Private Equity, says: “Western has been an exceptional performer in our portfolio. We are proud of the partnership and pleased to transition ownership back to Monogram, who we know will continue supporting the company’s next growth phase.”

Monogram funded the transaction through investment vehicles, including a continuation vehicle, managed by the firm. Committed Advisors, an independent secondaries-focused private equity manager with $7 billion of AUM, was the lead investor in Monogram's continuation vehicle with participation from long-standing partner RCP Advisors and other institutional partners. Monogram was advised by Evercore on the transaction, and AUA was advised by Harris Williams.

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