Second Nature Brands agreed on Sunday to acquire Tillamook Country Smoker from Insignia Capital Group and family shareholders, marking the Chicago-based snack platform's first entry into the protein snacks category, the company said in a statement dated June 8, 2026. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The deal adds Tillamook Country Smoker — a maker of smoked sausages and meat snacks distributed across mainstream retail — to a portfolio that already spans nuts, trail mix, confectionery and baked goods. Second Nature Brands did not provide revenue figures for the target or an expected closing date, though the transaction was described as agreed rather than closed as of the announcement.
Protein snacks have emerged as one of the faster-expanding segments within the broader better-for-you snacking universe, drawing acquisition interest from both strategic buyers and private-equity-backed platforms. Meat-based snack formats, including sticks, jerky and smoked sausages, have benefited from sustained consumer appetite for high-protein, lower-sugar options — a trend that accelerated through the mid-2020s as shoppers traded confectionery for functional alternatives.
Second Nature Brands was built through a series of bolt-on acquisitions and organic investment across its existing labels: Kar's Nuts, Second Nature Snacks, Sahale Snacks, Sanders Candy, Brownie Brittle and Voortman Cookies. The addition of Tillamook Country Smoker represents a deliberate category extension rather than a consolidation play within its core sweet-and-salty snacking base. Insignia Capital Group, the seller, is a San Francisco-based lower-middle-market private equity firm that had held the brand alongside its founding family shareholders.
The transaction underscores a broader pattern of snack-platform M&A activity in which scaled operators pursue white-space categories to extend retail shelf presence and diversify revenue mix. For Second Nature Brands, protein snacks offer exposure to a consumer segment — active, health-conscious adults — that overlaps with but is not fully served by its existing nut and better-for-you baked-goods lines. The company did not provide updated guidance or combined-entity revenue projections in the announcement.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.