Wellness Central: Unilever’s Olly Acquisition Underscores Supplement Interest

Unilever is acquiring Olly Nutrition, which sells gummy supplements that aim to target sleep, beauty, stress and energy. The business was co-founded by Eric Ryan, who also founded soaps business Method, in 2014. In addition to the gummy vitamins the brand is best-known for, Olly also makes protein powders and snack bars. Olly sells its products at Target, Sephora, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Amazon and other retailers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. “Olly is a strong, innovative brand in the fast-growing health and wellbeing space, and nicely complements our businesses in beauty and personal care and foods and refreshment,” said Amanda Sourry, president of Unilever North America, in a statement. Under Unilever, Ryan will stay on as chief growth officer for Olly. Gerry Chesser, Olly’s current chief operating officer, will become chief executive officer. The Olly deal underscores strategic interest in the supplements space, which has increased as wellness trends take hold with consumers. Olly isn’t Unilever’s first supplement deal — in 2018, the company bought a majority stake in Equilibra, which makes personal care and nutritional supplements. Johnson & Johnson also recently bought Zarbee’s, which makes natural medicines and supplements. Other companies, like Hum Nutrition and Bulletproof 360, have raised venture capital. “Ten years

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