Flavor Producers Inc (“FPI” or the “company”), announced that the company has been recapitalized through a strategic, majority investment by Ceba-Tech Specialty Solutions (“Ceba-Tech”), St. Louis, a partnership between Chicago private equity firm, GTCR and industry executive Charles A. Nicolais.  Flavor Producers will remain independent and continue to serve its customers with the highest level of flavor technology and customer service from its three facilities and R&D groups in Valencia, Calif.; Cincinnati and Linden, N.J.  

Jeff Harris, CEO of FPI, said, “I am thrilled to be part of the next chapter of Flavor Producers by partnering with Charles Nicolais and GTCR. I believe their industry experience and resources can add significant value as we continue to grow organically and through strategic acquisitions of proprietary capabilities and businesses.”

Founded in 1981 and headquartered in Valencia, FPI is a provider of flavors and extracts to the food & beverage industries, with a focus on organic and natural products. Over the past 35 years, FPI has developed an extensive library of proprietary flavors, a highly experienced R&D team with unique technical capabilities, and an attractive facility network across California, Ohio and New Jersey. This platform enables the company to quickly deliver complex formulations across a range of end-product applications and production quantities to a growing base of more than 500 emerging and multinational customers worldwide.

In January 2017, GTCR partnered with Mr. Nicolais to create Ceba-Tech and build a market-leading platform in the specialty chemicals, materials and ingredients industry. Prior to partnering with GTCR, Mr. Nicolais most recently served as founder and chief executive officer of SensoryEffects, a leading provider of specialty ingredients to the food and beverage industries. He significantly grew the business through organic growth and acquisitions, before completing a highly successful sale of the company. 

“The Harris family and the broader FPI team have built a terrific company,” said Charles A. Nicolais. “We are excited to invest in the business, further scale the platform and expand its capabilities to better serve our customers and drive enhanced growth.”

“We look forward to the opportunity to partner with Charles and Jeff and to help them build FPI further,” said GTCR Managing Director, Sean Cunningham. “The company has an excellent track record of growth driven by a customer centric focus and high quality products, and we look forward to committing additional capital to support both organic initiatives and strategic follow-on acquisitions.”