Glanbia Buys Isopure

Glanbia Buys Isopure

Yes, it's true! Glanbia has bought Isopure which is now the 4th sports supplement company they now own! They paid $153 million for Isopure. Glanbia is a massive dairy company and one of four companies who supply almost all of the whey protein in the world. Sports supplements accounts for around a 1/5th of Glanbia's revenue. 

Isopure

Isopure is based in New York and was started by two guys named Hal and Ernie with a cement mixer and an idea to make things better.  Their sales were $74.6 million in their 2014 financial year with most sales coming from their Isopure whey protein powder and their Isopure Ready-To-Drink beverages. 

Glanbia Already Owns BSN, ON and ABB

In 2008, Glanbia acquired Optimum Nutrition and ABB for $315 million. Glanbia's purchase of Optimum Nutrition was followed by the purchase in 20111 of BSN (Bio-Engineered Supplements and Nutrition), which was bought for $144 million. Glanbia plc is an international nutritional ingredients and cheese group, headquartered in Ireland. Glanbia has over 4,000 employees worldwide, including Joint Ventures and Associates. The Group has three business segments - US Cheese & Global Nutritionals, Dairy Ireland and Other Business. Glanbia also has three principal international joint ventures - Southwest Cheese in the USA, Glanbia Cheese in the UK and Nutricima in Nigeria - as well as a number of small Irish-based joint ventures and associates. Glanbia is listed on the Irish and London Stock Exchanges.

Here's What Scott Welch Has To Say About The Purchase

• Buying Isopure will allow Glanbia yet another decent selling sports nutrition company to sell their raw protein to and get their costs down further. This will make it even harder for supplement companies that do not manufacturing their own protein powders to compete. This will also help stabilize the price of their products. Price fluctuations have been a problem for all supplement companies in the past as protein prices have been very volatile.
   
• This purchase will allow Glanbia to consolidate their media buying for Optimum Nutrition, ABB, Isopure and BSN with the various magazines and websites. Consolidation will allow for increased savings, better placement and added value and more overall power with magazines and websites. Better hope the sales reps for these magazines have not been charging Isopure way too much for these ad pages because the folks at Glanbia will be seeing the exact price by the time you read this!
   
• New Products - Optimum Nutrition, ABB and BSN are very different companies with very different competence and brand character. This merger will allow them to plan their product launch strategies with all 4 supplement companies in mind. Glanbia has pioneered various raw ingredient innovations they have not always put under the ON portfolio or BSN product line. By now having 4 companies to roll new innovations out under it will only increase their chances of success in the marketplace.
   
• Increased Distribution US – It’s hard to find any store in the US or Canada that doesn’t have BSN and Optimum Nutrition products, so you can expect to find Isopure products in most of the same stores that BSN and Optimum are found.
   
• International Distribution – BSN, Optimum, ABB and Isopure have different contacts internationally. This merger will enhance each others ability to penetrate international markets. With Glanbia's divisions in Canada, U.S., Europe, U.K. and Nigeria, they may be able to manufacturer various Isopure products inside some of these countries thus reducing the price further and avoiding shipping from their US manufacturers to these countries. Once you're products are inside Europe, it’s much easier to ship throughout all of Europe.
   
• Since Glanbia already owns ABB (which is mostly an RTD and Bar company) and BSN still sells RTDs, expect Isopure's competence in RTDs to rub off on all division of Glanbia's sports nutrition division and vice versa.