Digital consumer brand start-up launches with acquisition of Lean Caffeine

Digital consumer brand start-up launches with acquisition of Lean Caffeine

Digital consumer brand start-up launches with acquisition of Lean Caffeine, kickstarting plans to become a major consolidator of ‘clean’ FMCG/CPG brands

Octillion Capital Partners, a mission-driven, London-based ecommerce start-up, which acquires ethical, clean food and clean beauty consumer brands, has made its first acquisition of a bestselling digital-native clean coffee and food supplement brand. This marks the start of their plight to fight the epidemic of unhealthy foods and toxic skincare products by making clean foods and clean beauty products accessible.

Recently founded by ecommerce entrepreneurs Ayo Disu and Kunle Campbell, Octillion aims to become the nucleus of truly ethical brands in the dry foods, drinks, skincare, wellness, and beauty sectors with a healthy, low-sugar, and ‘clean’ profile, pushing new frontiers for quality-led lifestyle options. The company is looking to acquire a further 3-6 companies over the next 18 months.

Lean Caffeine Ltd, which operates two brands; ‘Lean Caffeine’ a clean mycotoxins and pesticide-free coffee brand with claims to being the “world’s cleanest coffee”; and the ‘Clean and Pure’ food supplement brand that produces premium grass-fed supplements such as bone broth powder and collagen, operates in the UK and has partial operations in mainland European countries, with over 50,000 customers. 

Lean Caffeine has become the number one choice for intermittent fasters due to its longer lasting effects with sustained energy and focus. Free of all mycotoxins, pesticides and heavy metals, the coffee helps to ensure there are no headaches, nausea or caffeine crash symptoms prevalent in other mainstream caffeine products.

The addition of Lean Caffeine to the Octillion group taps into the growing consumer clean health movement that spans diet, fitness and lifestyle choices around global purchasing decisions. Through the acquisition, Octillion will support the brand’s growth and expansion into Europe and the US, protecting its core principles for quality, clean living and raising the bar for clean food and clean beauty product accessibility.

Kunle Campbell, Octillion Capital Partners co-founder, said: “Working with Lean Caffeine is the first stage in an exciting journey for us, and sets the tone for what we hope to achieve with future brands we acquire, operate and grow.”

 “Octillion is founded on a shared passion to make sustainable, clean, ethical brands accessible to more consumers. By finding and acquiring exciting, challenger brands who share this mission, we want to spark a revolution in the retail space and offer health-conscious consumers better choice, quality and transparency about the products they buy.”

One of the key motivations behind Octillion’s emphasis on delivering transparency and quality in their brand portfolio derives from a rejection of the smoke and mirror practices that continue to plague the food and beverage markets — especially when it comes to nutrition-targeted products.

Ground-breaking research has revealed just how far-reaching the scope of the ‘Big 10’ food and beverage companies had become,1 with retail titans such as Unilever, Mondelez and Nestle having majority control of many seemingly unconnected day-to-day food and beverage items. The consolidation of these brands, it was argued, made it difficult for consumers to be aware of which products and values were upheld, and that the ‘illusion of choice’ was eroding informed and ethical decision-making.

Ayo Disu, Octillion Capital Partners co-founder, says: “Our acquisitions will aim to raise the profile of the brands we work with and create a trusted catalog of quality products that empower more people to make informed lifestyle decisions. Lean Caffeine is a perfect first entry for this vision as they share this core value in their business as well. We’re committed to a quality-over-quantity approach that is deliberate, conscious and meaningful when it comes to how we choose our brands.”

This sentiment is mirrored by Attila Hardy, Array Capital Founder and Partner and sell-side M&A adviser for Lean Caffeine, who adds: “It became apparent after the first few discussions that Octillion was the right buyer for Lean Caffeine. Ayo and Kunle’s vision for the brand was far more ambitious and creative than what other buyers presented.”

Lean Caffeine, founded by Jamie Sukroo in 2017, holds a popular selection of leading, high-quality health products that include bone broth, collagen powder, bonito flakes and a flagship clean coffee selection that sets the gold standard for quality ingredient testing. This guarantees a zero-tolerance approach to mould toxins, pesticides and heavy metals that are known to cause headaches, nausea and caffeine crash symptoms with other mainstream caffeine products.  Jamie has kept a minority stake in the business, with the rest being sold to Octillion Capital Partners for approximately £1m.

Inspired to seek healthier lifestyle products following his father’s dementia diagnosis, Jamie created the Lean Caffeine brand to help provide others with a cleaner alternative to coffee that focused on natural, high-quality ingredients that are religiously lab-tested to ensure a consistent standard. Healthier dieting and energy sources have been shown to help reduce the risk of health conditions such as dementia and ultimately promote a longer, fuller life.

Jamie Sukroo, Lean Caffeine founder, said: “It can be a shock to people just how much damage a lot of day-to-day food and beverage products can have on our bodies over time. Much like smoking, negative factors from modern food processing like mycotoxins have a growing impact on our health that remain invisible without the proper information and education.”

“With Octillion acquiring our ‘Lean Caffeine’ and ‘Pure and Clean’ brands, they will have the expertise and strength to increase not only our product portfolio but our expansion into new selling channels, new geographies and eventually into retail aisles. We will cater to the growing wave of health-conscious consumers demanding better quality for any healthy lifestyle of their choice, be it a low-carbohydrate or low sugar, Keto or paleo lifestyle. Our product portfolio would provide the cleanest profiles and best value options to consumers.” 

“Octillion delivered a pleasant and smooth acquisition process. They offered us fair value for our business, were flexible, and completed the transaction on all the terms we agreed to from the onset. From our first conversations with Ayo and Kunle, we knew they were prepared and willing to collaborate to close the deal.”

More information about Octillion Capital Partners can be found online at https://octillioncapitalpartners.com/.

Further details about the Lean Caffeine product range can be accessed at https://leancaffeine.co.uk/.

SOURCES

  1. Hoffman, B. 2013. Behind the Brands: Food justice and the ‘Big 10’ food and beverage companies. 978-1-78077-251-6. https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/behind-the-brands-food-justice-and-the-big-10-food-and-beverage-companies-270393/

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