Simply Good Foods Changed 1 Ingredient. Investors Claim It Helped Derail a $280 Million Acquisition
The lawsuit alleges Owyn’s reformulation hurt taste and shelf life, dragging down sales and forcing losses.
When Simply Good Foods swapped protein suppliers, it didn’t just change a recipe; it triggered a lawsuit.
Investors have filed a class-action lawsuit against Simply Good Foods, alleging the company botched the integration of its $280 million acquisition of Owyn protein shakes and that a subsequent reformulation drove down sales.
In the complaint, which was filed
In the complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, investors claim Simply Good Foods’ integration of Owyn has “been an abject failure.” They point to the addition of a new pea-protein supplier, a decision made before the acquisition but carried out shortly after, which they say created “significant product quality issues,” including negative effects on taste, texture, and shelf life.
Christopher Simons, professor of food science and technology at The Ohio State University, said that kind of fallout tracks with what he’d expect. “I am not sure I would necessarily characterize finding a new protein
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“Even seemingly small formulation changes can have large sensory impacts,” he added. “If the changes are noticeable and negatively influence the consumer’s perception of that product, it can lead to decreased liking and sales.”
He said that pea protein varies widely depending
He said that pea protein varies widely depending on whether it’ses, protein content and processing methods can shift a product’s taste and texture in ways that are hard to predict from the raw ingredient alone
Simply Good Foods had already been grappling with a broader slowdown before the Owyn deal, as dozens of new protein shakes and bars flooded the market and pulled sales away from its flagship Quest brand.
Source: www.inc.com
