Adapted from a press release:
Antelope, a private equity firm’s natural pet food, treat and other product brand conglomerate, acquired Bocce’s Bakery, a natural, limited-ingredient pet treats company. Bocce’s will continue to operate under its brand name within Antelope.
Bocce’s Bakery was founded in 2010 by Andrea Tovar. Tovar started baking treats in her NYC apartment. Natalia Tovar, Andrea’s sister joined the business in the first year. Eleven years later, Bocce’s has grown a full line of treats of over 75 SKUs of recipes for dogs (and soon cats) of all ages. Bocce’s treats are carried in thousands of retail stores across the nation and can be found in local independent pet stores, natural grocery chains, and national retailers such as Target, Petsmart, Petco, and Shake Shack. Tovar and Natalia will continue as senior advisors to the company.
Antelope was launched by Alpine Investors and founder and CEO, Wendy Wen, with the mission to build a conglomerate of high-quality natural pet brands. Wendy was previously the co-founder and COO of SENREVE, a digitally-native, omnichannel luxury handbag brand, where she’d built the business from the ground up to a globally recognized name.
"We started Bocce’s in a small oven and could not be more proud of how our customers have stood behind our mission over the past decade. In considering the next step in Bocce’s growth trajectory, we have found Alpine to be unique in their energy, enthusiasm, and care for our brand," said Andrea. "We are confident that Alpine and Wendy will continue to build on Bocce’s strong foundation while maintaining Bocce’s quality promise and our commitment to making a positive change in the pet aisle. We are excited about the opportunities that partnering with Alpine will unlock for Bocce’s and look forward to this next chapter in the Bocce’s story.”
About Bocce’s Bakery, Antelope and Alpine Investors
According to the company, Bocce’s was founded in 2010 in a West Village kitchen with a mixer, an oven, and a scruffy mutt named Bocce with the belief that dogs deserve better. Better food with fresher, simpler, all-natural ingredients, and lots of treats! Bocce’s treats can now be found nationally – stocked in independent pet stores across the US, retailers such as Target, Petco, Chewy, and specialty locations such as Shake Shack. Antelope was founded in August 2021 with the mission to elevate the lives of all pets by delivering the highest quality products across all consumable categories. Antelope aims to buy, build and grow the best pet consumable brands across all verticals. Alpine Investors is a people-driven private equity firm that is committed to building enduring companies by working with, learning from, and developing exceptional people. Alpine specializes in investments in companies in the software and services industries. Its PeopleFirst strategy includes a CEO program which allows Alpine to bring leadership to situations where additional or new management is needed post-transaction. Alpine is currently investing out of its US$2.25 billion eighth fund.
36 pet food industry acquisitions by 3rd quarter 2021
As of Oct. 27, at least 36 mergers and acquisitions have occurred in the global pet food industry. These transactions included pet food producers, ingredient suppliers and others in the industry.
