According to reports, ITC Ltd has signed an agreement to acquire direct-to-consumer (D2C) start-up Sproutlife Foods Pvt Ltd with a view to strengthen its presence in the fast-growing nutrition health foods space.

ITC will buyout the company in tranches over a period of 3-4 years. It will buy out 47.5 percent stake in Sproutlife Foods in tranches by March 2025.

According to the company, the balance stake will be acquired, basis pre-defined valuation criteria, subject to other conditions agreed to in the binding documents.

The company will initially invest Rs. 175 crore by subscribing to shares representing 39.4 percent stake in the start-up by February 15. Further, it will infuse Rs. 80 crore by March 31, 2025.

The balance stake will be acquired by ITC based on the pre-defined valuation criteria within three months of Sproutlife providing its financial results for the year ending March 2026. Sproutlife Foods’ turnover increased to Rs. 68 crore in 2021-22 (April-March) from Rs. 32 crore in 2019-20.

Yoga Bar has a product portfolio, including nutrition bars, muesli, oats and cereals. It currently has a high salience of online sales, with growing presence in offline stores.

The acquisition will enable ITC to augment its future-ready portfolio and enhance market presence in the 'Good for You' space, which currently includes Aashirvaad multi-grain atta, Aashirvaad Nature's Super Foods, Farmlite range of biscuits, Sunfeast Protein Shake, B Natural Nutrilite ABC Beverage, among others.

According to ITC, “Yoga Bar is expected to be rapidly scaled up, leveraging ITC's enterprise strengths in areas such as sales and distribution, sourcing, product development, and digital.”