The Deal
Second Nature Brands, a CapVest Partners portfolio company, has completed its acquisition of Tillamook Country Smoker, the Bay City, Oregon-based meat snack producer whose beef jerky, beef sticks, and smoked sausages have broad distribution across the convenience channel. Seller Insignia Capital Group, a Walnut Creek, Calif.-based private equity firm, announced the close on Aug. 10, 2026.
The deal adds a meaningful c-store-facing protein brand to Second Nature Brands' growing better-for-you snack portfolio, which already includes Kar's Nuts, Sahale Snacks, Sanders, Brownie Brittle, Voortman, and Second Nature Snacks. Meat snacks remain one of the highest-velocity grab-and-go categories at the forecourt, making Tillamook a natural fit for an acquirer hunting c-store shelf presence.
Growth Under Insignia
Insignia invested in Tillamook Country Smoker in 2017, when the brand was primarily a Pacific Northwest regional player. Over the nine-year hold, revenue and EBITDA more than tripled as the company broadened distribution to grocery, club, mass, convenience, and e-commerce nationwide and modernized its two Oregon manufacturing facilities to expand capacity and improve throughput efficiency.
A standout move during that stretch was the launch of a Zero Sugar meat snack platform, which the company now describes as the category leader in one of snacking's fastest-growing subsegments. Zero Sugar jerky and sticks appeal directly to the health-oriented convenience shopper who has been reshaping the single-serve snack set — a trend NACS data has tracked for several consecutive years as operators swap legacy roller-grill staples for cleaner-label protein options.
Channel Context
For c-store operators, the ownership change is less a disruption than a signal of category momentum. Meat snacks have consistently outpaced the broader salty-snack segment in convenience, driven by high-protein positioning, favorable impulse price points, and minimal back-of-house requirements compared with a full foodservice program. The m-and-a activity in better-for-you snacking reflects supplier confidence that convenience-channel velocity can support premium valuations.
Second Nature Brands, headquartered in Chicago, pursues growth through innovation, organic expansion, and bolt-on acquisitions — a playbook that fits Tillamook's established manufacturing base and national retail footprint. Houlihan Lokey advised Tillamook and Insignia on the transaction; Solomon Partners advised Second Nature Brands. Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to the seller; Willkie Farr & Gallagher represented the buyer.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
