Bansk Group to Acquire Foundation Wellness

September 22, 2024

NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Bansk Group (“Bansk”), a consumer-focused private investment firm dedicated to building distinctive consumer brands, today announced that it has acquired Foundation Wellness (“Foundation Wellness” or the “Company”), a consumer health & wellness platform managing a family of specialty orthotics brands and other branded footcare-focused solutions, from Gridiron Capital. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Wadsworth, Ohio, Foundation Wellness is a leading designer, marketer and manufacturer of category-leading premium orthotics and other consumer wellness solutions. Key brands include PowerStep, the #1 Podiatrist Recommended Orthotic, and Currex, the #1 Fastest Growing Orthotic in the Specialty Run Channel, as well as Foot Petals, Flat Socks and Doctor Hoys. Foundation Wellness’ orthotics are designed to relieve pain, increase comfort, enhance performance, and even help consumers prevent injury during both everyday tasks and active recreation. Both clinicians and consumers trust the Company’s products to provide an effective first line of defense against painful conditions such as plantar fasciitis, metatarsalgia, heel spurs, Morton’s neuroma, and many others. Foundation Wellness also designs and manufactures other highly-engineered orthopedic, orthotic, and health & safety products for a variety of healthcare and footwear customers, as well as the U.S. military.

“As we see consumers increasingly focus on health, wellness and fitness, along with an aging U.S. population seeking to live a more active lifestyle, demand for effective, pain-relieving orthotic solutions is poised for long-term, secular growth,” said Chris Kelly, Senior Partner at Bansk Group. “For nearly 90 years, Foundation Wellness has built a reputation for prioritizing the health and wellness of consumers. We look forward to leveraging our track record in the consumer health sector to capitalize on strong demand for Foundation Wellness’ clinical orthotics offering and thoughtfully expand the Company’s platform in adjacent categories.”

“We’re thrilled to partner with the Bansk team to accelerate our brand growth and enhance the best-in-class orthotics solutions our industry-leading brands deliver to help consumers live higher quality, active lives,” said Sean Williams, CEO at Foundational Wellness. “Bansk’s deep expertise in consumer healthcare and track record of nurturing distinctive brands to drive long-term business growth aligns closely with our vision for Foundation Wellness. We’re proud that our brands deliver products consumers can rely on to address pain, enhance performance, and amplify comfort. We are excited to continue innovating alongside the Bansk team.”

Bansk Group’s investment in Foundation Wellness marks the firm’s third consumer healthcare platform investment and fifth transaction in less than three years, following the pending acquisition of PetIQ, a leading pet medication, health and wellness company and the acquisitions of Arcadia Consumer Healthcare, a leading platform of OTC medicines brands; CloSYS, a science-based oral rinse for sensitive mouths; and Avrio Health, another OTC consumer health products company.

Robert W. Baird & Co. served as financial advisor to Foundation Wellness. Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel to Bansk Group.

About Foundation Wellness
Headquartered in Wadsworth, Ohio, for nearly 90 years, Foundation Wellness is a family of wellness brands including PowerStep, Currex, Foot Petals, Doctor Hoy’s, and FLAT SOCKS. Our leading brand, PowerStep, is the #1 Podiatrist recommended orthotic in the marketplace, offering foot support, pain relief, and helping with injury prevention. The Company also sells branded products direct to consumers, through sports and specialty retailers, and offers custom engineered products to leading OEMs and distributors in the footcare, orthopedic soft goods, safety, and military markets. Learn more about Foundation Wellness and its offerings at https://www.foundationwellness.com.

Bansk Group
Founded in 2019, Bansk Group is a New York-based private investment firm focused on investing in and building distinctive consumer brands. The firm partners with differentiated brands across four primary consumer categories: beauty & personal care, consumer health, food & beverage, and household products.

Over their careers with Bansk and elsewhere, Bansk’s tenured group of investors and operators have been involved in more than $30 billion of equity capital investments across more than 40 transactions with some of the most innovative and well-known consumer companies in the world. With extensive investment experience in the consumer products industry, a global network of relationships, and a tested value creation playbook, Bansk seeks to partner with exceptional founders and management teams to drive outsized organic and acquisitive growth and position brands for enduring long-term success in the evolving consumer landscape. www.banskgroup.com

Contacts
Woomi Yun / Erik Carlson / Madeline Jones
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
212-355-4449

SOURCE Bansk Group