FORT LAUDERDALE, September 20, 2021 - Sugarbear Vitamin Care (“Sugarbear” or the “Company”), a Fort Lauderdale-based vegan beauty and wellness brand, announced today it has secured a strategic growth investment from an investor group comprised of Nexus Capital Management LP (“Nexus”) and Meaningful Partners LLC (“Meaningful”).

“We embarked on this journey six years ago by launching the first cruelty-free, plant-based ‘Hair Vitamin’ gummy with the goal to disrupt the vitamin industry, and believe it is the right time to bring on institutional partners to help accelerate our growth,” said Nicole Johnson, CEO of Sugarbear. “We are incredibly grateful to have found the Nexus and Meaningful team who support our drive and commitment to first-to-market innovations, premium ingredients and user-friendly customer-focused solutions. Nexus and Meaningful’s leadership team collectively has decades of experience that will help guide Sugarbear into the next phase of its growth. We are excited to get to work and look forward to bringing to market new products the Company has been developing over the last eighteen months.”

Sugarbear specializes in vegan vitamin-based solutions that are made in the U.S.A. with organic and plant-based ingredients. By leveraging its strong reputation for delivering premium, high-quality wellness solutions, Sugarbear plans to expand its product offering from gummies to additional vitamin-infused innovations, delivering a 360-degree approach to beauty and wellness for its customers. This new investment will support the Company’s execution of its strategic vision, including the expansion of its leading market position in hair and other functional supplements, as well as accelerated growth in domestic and international markets.

“We are excited by the opportunity to partner with Nicole and the Sugarbear team in supporting the Company’s continued success and evolution from a category-defining gummy vitamin brand into a more holistic beauty and wellness company,“ said Michael Cohen, Partner at Nexus. “Nicole is a true visionary and inspirational founder, and we look forward to our partnership as she continues to redefine wellness/beauty from the inside-out through her innovative products.”

“Nicole and the Sugarbear team’s passion for bringing environmentally-friendly, high-quality products with a repeatable innovation process makes this an exciting partnership,” said Amin Maredia, Managing Partner at Meaningful Partners. “We look forward to supporting Nicole’s vision and bringing our collective operational experience to accelerate growth at Sugarbear.”

Kirkland & Ellis LLP represented Nexus and Meaningful Partners as legal counsel. Sugarbear was advised by Goodwin Proctor LLP on legal matters, and Deloitte Corporate Finance LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to the Company on the transaction.

About Sugarbear:

Sugarbear was founded in 2015 and was immediately successful with the introduction of its first-to-market, iconic blue bear ‘Hair Vitamin’ gummy, which has been the #1 gummy vitamin on Amazon since its Amazon launch in early 2016. Sugarbear has since expanded into Multivitamins and Sleep Vitamins, specializing in vegan, great-tasting and premium complex vitamin formulations that work. Sugarbear products are sold globally and can be found online on Sugarbearhair.com, SugarbearVitaminCare.com, and Amazon.com, as well as in retail stores through partners such as Ulta and Target.

About Nexus Capital Management LP:

Nexus is an alternative asset investment management company based in Los Angeles, California that was founded in 2013. Nexus employs a flexible investment mandate that focuses on long-term value creation by partnering with leading management teams and businesses. More at http://www.nexuslp.com.

About Meaningful Partners:

Meaningful Partners, with offices in Los Angeles, CA and Austin, TX focuses on partnering with purposeful consumer businesses with relevant and specific long-term consumer thematic trends. Meaningful Partners makes control and minority investments ranging from $10 million to $50+ million in lower-middle market and high growth companies, and is led by an experienced investor and operator management team. More at https://meaningfulpartners.com.

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Sugarbear Announces Strategic Growth Investment from Nexus Capital and Meaningful Partners