INW buys Capstone Nutrition

Innovations in Nutrition & Wellness (INW), a Dallas-based provider of custom research and development, manufacturing and marketing support for global brands that serve the nutrition and wellness industry, has announced that it has acquired Capstone Nutrition, a developer and manufacturer of nutrition and wellness products. Ogden-based Capstone was previously owned by Brightstar Capital Partners. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. INW is backed by Cornel Capital of New York City. 

Capstone is a full-service developer and manufacturer for established and emerging wellness brands across the specialty health, functional food, immunity support, digestive health, holistic health, fit and active lifestyle, skincare and pet care markets. Focused on capsules, tablets and powder products, its 300,000-square-foot manufacturing facility is one of the largest in the nutrition industry.

Jared Leishman, Capstone’s current CEO, has been named CEO of the combined company. Leishman brings more than 15 years of experience in the dietary supplement industry, having previously served as both the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Capstone prior to his appointment as CEO in 2016.

“This transaction positions INW as a leading, full-service platform in this fragmented and high-demand segment of the health and wellness market,” said Justine Cheng, partner at Cornell Capital. “Capstone’s expertise across a variety of product forms and ingredients, highly flexible infrastructure and 30-year history of quality and efficiency as a trusted brand partner are impressive. We look forward to partnering with Jared and the rest of Capstone’s experienced team to share best practices and drive continued growth at INW across an expanded operational and customer footprint.”

“We are excited to join the INW family and accelerate growth by leveraging our innovative capabilities, operational flexibility and blue-chip customer relationships as part of this expanding global platform,” Leishman said. “Combining our two complementary businesses will continue to strengthen INW as a world-class turnkey service provider of differentiated products across the vitamins, minerals and supplements categories.”