USA – Ellenos, the Greek yogurt brand born in Seattle’s Pike Place Market, has received a US$18 million investment from Daniel Lubetzky, founder and Executive Chairman of KIND Snacks.

The investment was made through Equilibra Partners Management, the family office of Daniel Lubetzky. Equilibra will become Ellenos’ second private equity partner after Monogram Capital Partners, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, joined the Ellenos family in 2018.

Ellenos launched in 2013 in Seattle by an Australian family with a mission of bring their Greek family yogurt recipe to the U.S.

Over the past seven years the brand has expanded its distribution into natural and specialty grocery stores, where Ellenos quickly became one of the fastest selling yogurt in the category.

The founders explain that the handmade Greek recipe is carefully hand strained and blended over a proprietary five-day process and uses a signature blend of yogurt cultures that has been a closely held family secret for generations.

“We make amazing yogurt – I’m confident in that – but the American packaged food industry is totally different from what we’re used to in both Greece and Australia,” said Con Apostolopoulos, Co-founder of Ellenos.

Topped with the house-made fresh fruit purees and indulgent compotes, Ellenos’ unparalleled taste and flavor is evolving the usage occasion for yogurt outside of “just for breakfast” and invigorating the category.

Through the strategic partnership Ellenos is aiming at further propelling its market expansion, as well as leverage Lubetzky as a mentor to Ellenos’ founders and leadership team.

As the Founder and Executive Chairman of KIND Snacks, the billion-dollar brand of nutritionally dense snacks that are both healthy and tasty, Lubetzky will bring first-hand expertise in building a successful food company from the ground-up

Ellenos added that the brand will also leverage Lubetzky’s profound experience in scaling a brand dedicated to consistently delivering exceptional craftsmanship.

“Having someone like Daniel as a partner … gives us this incredible opportunity to leverage his knowledge to help us take Ellenos to the masses and scale this community that we’ve built in the Northwest across the entire country,” Con said.