Novax AB, a Swedish investment company, has acquired a majority stake in UK-based clean label food ingredients specialist Ulrick & Short. 

The transaction will see Ulrick & Short continue to operate as a standalone business, with its founders Adrian Short and Andrew Ulrick staying on as minority shareholders and the existing management team remaining in place. 

The acquisition of Ulrick & Short marks Novax’s continued commitment to the sustainable development of the future of food.

Ulrick & Short specializes in herbal, natural clean label ingredients and is well-positioned to meet the long-term trends of consumers and food producers who are moving toward healthier and more sustainable food alternatives. 

The company acts as a partner for food producers who want to develop new clean label products or develop existing product ranges toward healthier alternatives.

Investing in European specialty food ingredients market
Adrian Short, co-founder and owner of Ulrick & Short, will continue to lead the business in the next step of the company’s growth journey.

“With Novax as a partner, we will continue to grow and have the best of conditions to reach our full potential,” he says.

“Novax has found a partner with a compatible culture that will play an important role in our future governance and growth,” adds Andrew Ulrick, co-founder and owner.

For Novax, the transaction is “a significant step into the food value chain.”

Oghma Partners, the corporate finance house to the consumer industries, is acting as the exclusive financial advisor to Novax AB, the Stockholm-based Axel Johnson Group’s investment company.

This deal is the latest in Oghma’s portfolio of successful cross-border ingredients transactions. 

Oghma’s other recent ingredient deals have included advising Solina Group on the acquisition of UK-based Bowman Ingredients and Givaudan SA on the divestment of both its pectin business to Herbstreith & Fox and of its processed and grated cheese business. 

Ulrick & Short operates as a co-development partner to food manufacturers looking to develop new clean label products or to refine existing product ranges into healthier alternatives.