NewSpring Franchise Invests in Fast-Casual Bakery and Café Great Harvest

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Oct 01, 2024, 09:00 ET

Investment will be used to expand Great Harvest's bakery and café concept across the U.S.

RADNOR, Pa., Oct. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- NewSpring ("the Firm"), a family of private equity strategies, announced today that NewSpring Franchise, the Firm's strategy dedicated to investing in innovative franchise and multi-unit concepts in large and growing markets, has completed an investment in Great Harvest Holdings, LLC ("Great Harvest" or the "Company") a franchise fast-casual bakery and café concept with approximately 175 locations across the U.S.

Founded in 1976, Great Harvest provides fresh baked bread, baked goods, sandwiches, salads, soup, breakfast items, and coffee and other beverages across multiple dayparts. Great Harvest will use the proceeds of this transaction to enhance franchise development, supply chain, and marketing to accelerate growth.

"Great Harvest is a leader in the bakery and café category, establishing its brand and customer value proposition with a high-quality product offering. It represents exactly the type of company we seek to apply our proven approach to building beloved, multi-unit brands," said Patrick Sugrue, NewSpring General Partner. "Our access to top talent and experience in the franchise restaurant industry will allow Great Harvest to accelerate growth from an already strong foundation."

"Great Harvest provides high-quality baked goods utilizing premium ingredients that our customers have come to know and love. As we've successfully expanded our concept to include cafés, we've not only enhanced the customer experience, but also broadened our offering to a wider range of consumers across multiple dayparts," said Mike Ferretti, CEO of Great Harvest. "Partnering with NewSpring Franchise is the perfect next step, as their impressive track record of elevating and expanding franchise concepts, coupled with their deep investment and operational experience, will be critical to driving our continued success. I am eager to collaborate with Patrick Sugrue and Satya Ponnuru as new members of our Board of Directors to help guide the brand's future expansion."

This transaction is the fourth out of NSF II, NewSpring Franchise's dedicated investment fund, and is consistent with the strategy's approach to targeting capital-efficient, consumer-facing, multi-unit businesses with a strong customer value proposition, proven unit-level economics, and exceptional management teams in the lower-middle market. NewSpring Franchise has a successful track record identifying and investing in growing fast-casual restaurant concepts, including Duck Donuts, Federal Donuts and Chicken, and Shake Smart. In addition to these restaurants, the strategy's investments include Blo Blow Dry Bar, Central Bark and Green Home Solutions.

About NewSpring

NewSpring is a lower-middle market focused private equity firm that partners with the innovators, makers, and operators of high-performing companies in dynamic industries to catalyze new growth and seize compelling opportunities. The Firm manages approximately $3.5 billion across five distinct strategies covering the spectrum from growth equity and control buyouts to mezzanine debt. Having invested in over 200 companies, NewSpring brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and resources to take growing companies to the next level and beyond. Partnering with management teams to help develop their businesses into market leaders, NewSpring identifies opportunities and builds relationships using its network of industry leaders and influencers across a wide array of operational areas and industries. To learn more, visit www.newspringcapital.com.

About Great Harvest

The Great Harvest Bread Company was founded in 1976 in Great Falls, Montana, based on a simple premise - Make amazing bread with five simple ingredients (fresh milled whole wheat flour, fresh yeast, water, salt, and honey). From this beginning, Great Harvest built a true national bakery chain. In the early 2000s, Great Harvest pivoted to expand its product offerings beyond a bakery and transformed its operating model into a bakery café concept with the addition of sandwiches, soups, salads, and sweet treats. The essence of Montana that charmed early Great Harvest customers still influences the core of the corporate culture. Authenticity, a spirit of camaraderie, and individuality remain the foundation of the organization. It turns out those values appeal to people in all 50 states. Today there are approximately 175 stores located across the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. Great Harvest's enduring strength is its mission to "Be loose and fun, bake phenomenal bread, run fast to help customers, be kind, and give generously to others." This Mission Statement has attracted bakery cafe owners who are community-minded, entrepreneurial, fun, and committed to creating fresh and flavorful products at family-friendly neighborhood hangouts.

SOURCE NewSpring