The Kroger Co. and private investment firm Lindsay Goldberg have formed PearlRock Partners, a new platform that will identify, invest in and help grow the next generation of leading consumer product brands.
PearlRock Partners will be one of the largest data-driven investment vehicles focused on consumer brands. The platform will be a part of Kroger’s alternative profit streams portfolio.
To help emerging consumer brands reach new customers and grow their business, the new platform will leverage Kroger’s merchandising capabilities and predictive analytics along with Lindsay Goldberg’s deep consumer expertise and nearly 20-year track record of investing in and supporting family-owned and founder-led companies.
“We are excited to add PearlRock Partners to our portfolio of high-growth alternative profit businesses that generate additional value from our core grocery business. We are confident this partnership with Lindsay Goldberg will help discover and cultivate new brands that Kroger customers will love,” said Stuart Aitken, Kroger’s SVP of alternative business and CEO of 84.51°. “We are transforming from grocer to growth company by deploying our assets to serve even more customers and create margin-rich alternative profit streams.”
“We are thrilled to partner with Kroger to help grow tomorrow’s most successful consumer brands alongside the entrepreneurs who built them. Backed by a state-of-the-art predictive data platform, real-world consumer product expertise and unparalleled merchandising resources, these next-gen brands will be poised for growth and offer Kroger’s broad customer base greater choice, convenience and innovation,” said Lindsay Goldberg partner Brian Kelley.
PearlRock Partners ladders to Restock Kroger, Kroger’s transformational plan to redefine the food and grocery customer experience in America. Through Restock Kroger, the company is leveraging its stores, logistics and data assets to create incremental new profit streams, which, in turn, drive investments to further redefine the customer experience. In this way, Kroger’s new growth model will be a virtuous cycle. The new platform will not only drive new alternate profit streams for Kroger, but also will contribute to the small brand ecosystem, helping emerging brands grow and thrive in Kroger’s stores.
For brands and other parties interested in learning more, email [email protected].
Lindsay Goldberg is a private investment firm that focuses on partnering with families, founders and management teams seeking to actively build their businesses.
84.51°, a Kroger company, uses a sophisticated, proprietary suite of tools and technology, to turn customer data into actionable knowledge.
