• April 29, 2014
  • North America

Integrity Nutraceuticals and Cornerstone Research & Development Merge to Form Leader in Nutraceutical Product Development and Manufacturing

SPRING HILL, TN – April 29, 2014 – Integrity Nutraceuticals (“Integrity”), a portfolio company of H.I.G. Growth Partners, has merged with Cornerstone Research and Development, Inc. (“Cornerstone”). Based in Ogden, UT, Cornerstone is a leading developer and manufacturer of nutritional supplements and OTC products. The merger, in combination with an expansive capital investment program, will create world-class formulation, product development and production capabilities across 600,000 square feet of manufacturing space. The combined scale and breadth of services spanning both the Tennessee and Utah facilities will be unparalleled in the industry and will enable the combined company to offer a unique value proposition to customers.

Peter Miller, CEO of the combined company, commented, “Cornerstone’s impeccable reputation for pharmaceutical-grade quality, strong innovation and manufacturing expertise make it a perfect complement to our business. Additionally, having access to their extensive production capabilities across a variety of product formats and being able to offer our customers a bi-coastal manufacturing and distribution footprint is a significant competitive advantage.”

“We are thrilled to combine our resources with Integrity,” said Mike Beardall, President of the combined company. “This is great news for our customers and changes the game for nutritional supplement manufacturing. With expanded capacity, enhanced capabilities, and new product development resources, we will continue to build on Cornerstone’s strong heritage of providing best-in-class services to our customers.”

Research, development, formulation and manufacturing services for the nutrition industry remain highly fragmented, with varying levels of quality, capability and service. “This is a bellwether event in the evolution of the nutrition industry,” noted board member Greg Horn, an experienced nutrition executive who has previously served as the CEO of both General Nutrition Centers and Garden of Life. “Compliance and enforcement have raised the bar for manufacturers, and this merger creates a formidable player with a critical mass of scale and capabilities in an otherwise fragmented segment of the market. It will be a one-stop shop for innovators in nutrition.”

About Cornerstone Research and Development
Headquartered in Ogden, UT, Cornerstone is one of the leading “pure-play” manufacturers in the vitamin, mineral, and supplement industry. Founded in 1992, Cornerstone develops, produces, and packages a wide range of capsule, tablet, and powder products for a variety of customers in the United States and internationally. Cornerstone is well known for its exceptional quality, and maintains several industry certifications recognizing its high manufacturing standards, including NSF GMP, NSF for Sport, and Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (“TGA”) certification. For more information, please visit www.crdius.com.

About Integrity Nutraceuticals
Headquartered in Spring Hill, TN, Integrity Nutraceuticals provides turn-key product development and value-added manufacturing services to branded nutritional supplement companies. Founded in 1999, Integrity develops, produces, and packages a wide range of powder and capsule products for a number of industry leaders, with particular expertise in sports nutrition. Integrity is well renowned for its industry leading in-house development laboratory and extensive quality control systems, and has proudly been NSF GMP and NSF for Sport compliant since 2008. For more information, please visit http://www.integritynutmfg.com.

About H.I.G. Growth Partners
H.I.G. Growth Partners is the dedicated growth capital investment affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, a leading global private equity investment firm with over $15 billion of capital under management. We seek to make both majority and minority investments in strong, growth oriented businesses located throughout North America, South America and Europe. We will invest $5 million to $30 million in equity in a given company and target investments in profitable growth oriented businesses with between $10 million and $100 million in revenues. We consider investments across all industries, but focus on certain high-growth sectors where H.I.G. has extensive in-house expertise such as technology, healthcare, internet and media, consumer products and technology-enabled financial and business services. Growth Partners strives to work closely with our management teams to serve as an experienced resource, providing broad-based strategic, operational, recruiting and financial management services from a vast in-house team and a substantial network of third-party relationships. For more information, please refer to the H.I.G. website at www.HIGgrowth.com.

Contacts

Mark Tricolli
Managing Director
mtricolli@HIGgrowth.com

Nicholas Scola
Principal
nscola@HIGgrowth.com

500 Boylston Street
Suite 1350
Boston, MA 02116
P 617.262.8455
F 617.262.1505
www.HIGgrowth.com

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