Advent Takes Majority Stake in Healthy Dining Group Wagas

This is an English adaptation of a FoodBud historical article originally published on September 20, 2022.

On September 20, 2022, Advent International announced that it had acquired a 60% stake in Wagas from the founders of the lifestyle foodservice group. The founders were to continue managing day-to-day operations. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1999, Wagas had become one of China’s leading healthy casual dining groups, known for fresh, higher-quality all-day dining. Built around the idea of “healthy eating for a better life,” the group operated around 250 stores in China across brands including Wagas, Baker and Spice, Funk & Kale and LOKAL.

Wagas had strong positions in Shanghai and Beijing and was present in 11 other Chinese cities.

Why Advent Backed Wagas

The article positioned Wagas as a beneficiary of rising consumer interest in health, lifestyle and premium casual dining in China.

Advent’s partnership was expected to support:

• Wider store expansion in China
• Brand development
• Product offering and menu R&D
• Operating infrastructure and systems

Andrew Chen, managing director at Advent International, said consumers were increasingly pursuing healthier lifestyles and that demand for casual and premium dining would continue to grow rapidly. He also highlighted Wagas’ people, culture, quality focus and relationships with leading mall operators in China.

Advent’s Consumer and Foodservice Track Record

Advent had invested in retail, consumer goods and leisure for more than 30 years and had completed more than 80 investments globally. Named portfolio companies included Lululemon, First Watch, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Bojangles, IRCA and Dufry.

Since 2014, Advent had completed 18 transactions in China and other Asian markets. Examples cited included AI Dream, BioDuro-Sundia, Guangsheng Group and Singapore-based K-12 enrichment and tutoring company The Learning Lab.

The article also reviewed several Advent food and restaurant-related deals.

Sovos Brands

Before the Sovos Brands IPO, Advent International held 84.7% of the company. After the IPO, Advent’s stake was 62.2%.

Sovos Brands CEO Todd Lachman founded the company in 2017 after 30 years of experience in consumer packaged goods. His previous roles included global president of Mars Petcare, president of Mars Chocolate North America and Latin America, and executive vice president at Del Monte Foods.

Sovos Brands was built as a food platform and brand-growth accelerator, targeting distinctive food brands with category-leadership potential. Over five years, it acquired four brands: pasta sauce brand Rao’s, yogurt brand Noosa, pancake and waffle brand Birch Benders, and Italian frozen food brand Michael Angelo’s.

Its largest single product was Rao’s Homemade 24oz marinara sauce. The company also planned to continue consolidating acquisitions to strengthen its position in food.

First Watch

Advent acquired a majority stake in First Watch in 2017. According to the company’s prospectus, Advent International was expected to hold 79.2% of common stock after the IPO.

First Watch is a daytime dining concept founded in 1983 and headquartered in Florida. At the time referenced, it had 8,000 full-time employees and served customizable breakfast, brunch and lunch made with fresh ingredients.

Its menu included pancakes, omelets, sandwiches and salads, as well as items such as the Quinoa Power Bowl, avocado toast and Chickichanga.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Advent’s disclosed foodservice investments included The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, which was later sold to Philippine restaurant group Jollibee.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was founded in Southern California in 1963 as a specialty tea and coffee chain. Over five decades, it expanded to 27 countries and more than 1,000 stores.

In 2019, Jollibee acquired an 80% stake in The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf for US$350 million, roughly RMB 2.3 billion. The remaining 20% was held by Jollibee’s Vietnam partner Viet Thai, which also held interests in the SuperFoods business.

The article noted potential synergies with Vietnam’s Highlands Coffee and said Jollibee intended to list The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf separately.

As of March 22, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf had 1,062 stores globally, including 295 company-operated stores and 767 franchised stores.

Bojangles

Advent’s website also listed an investment in fried chicken chain Bojangles.

Bojangles was founded in 1977 by Jack Fulk and Richard Thomas in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the company was also headquartered. It was described as a fast-food chain similar to KFC and McDonald’s, with products including fried chicken, sausage, steak, ham and buttermilk biscuits.

Bojangles completed its IPO in 2015 at US$19 per share, with a valuation of US$680 million and fundraising of US$147 million. In 2018, the company was taken private and delisted.

In October 2018, Bojangles, then a chicken chain with 766 restaurants, reached a definitive agreement to be acquired by Durational Capital and The Jordan Company, L.P. for US$593.7 million.

Note: IPO, ownership, valuation, store-count and forward-looking expansion or listing figures are historical and reflect the source article’s 2022 context.