KIND, a healthy snacking company, has announced it has entered an agreement to acquire Nature's Bakery, a family-owned company that offers wholesome snacks, such as its beloved Fig Bars and other soft-baked foods. This partnership will extend Mars' portfolio of businesses in the health & wellness space and build on KIND and Mars' shared vision to build out a platform of brands and products that make wholesome snacking choices more readily available to people everywhere.

Founded in 2011, Nature's Bakery was built on a promise to always deliver better-for-you snacks that taste as good as they make you feel. The company bakes its own bars with recipes that prioritize real, simple and wholesome ingredients like sun-ripened fruit and hearty whole grains to create snacks that are plant-based, nut-free, dairy-free, and 100 percent Non-GMO Project Verified. Nature's Bakery's soft-baked, nut-free favorites will be a differentiated and complementary offering to KIND's existing portfolio, whose first ingredient is a nutritionally dense food such as whole nuts, whole grains or whole fruit. Together, the brands' unique offerings will satisfy a broader range of nutritional needs, dietary restrictions, and taste preferences. This planned transaction advances KIND's commitment to create a foremost health & wellness platform as a separate business within Mars.

"If you look at pantries across the country, odds are you will find KIND and Nature's Bakery products sitting side-by-side," said Daniel Lubetzky, founder and executive chairman of KIND. "Both brands have created loyal followings by being true to their unique value propositions. It comes as no surprise that, along with KIND, they remain one of the growth leaders within the snack bar category. We are excited to welcome them to the KIND family and support the team's next chapter as part of our growing health & wellness platform."

"We know consumers love our soft-baked snacks, and this is a unique opportunity to introduce even more families to our full portfolio of snacks, baked with the nourishing ingredients and delicious recipes we have always been known for," said Chris Lansing, chief executive officer of Nature's Bakery.

"As a multi-generational family of bakers, we sought to create a company committed to making wholesome snacking accessible to active families everywhere. Nature's Bakery will benefit from continued reach and expansion of this vision through its partnership with KIND," said Dave Marson, founder of Nature's Bakery.

Chris Lansing will continue as Chief Executive Officer of Nature's Bakery reporting into Juan Martin, global president for KIND. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.