Unilever divests Slim-Fast to Kainos

Kainos Capital has acquired Slim-Fast (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.) from Unilever, which will retain a minority stake in the business. Terms were not disclosed. Slim-Fast will become part of the Kainos Capital portfolio of health and wellness companies, which includes Milk Specialties Global, InterHealth Nutraceuticals, Healthy Delights and Nu-Life.

Unilever acquired Slim-Fast for $2.3 billion in April 2000, but shortly thereafter Slim-Fast faced competition from the low-carb diet trend led by Atkins, and more recently from Internet-based weight loss programs and apps. In a January 2013 article, Bloomberg cited SymphonyIRI data indicating that Slim-Fast’s sales in the United States had declined 40 percent to $196 million since 2008. At its height, Slim-Fast’s sales reached a reported €1 billion.