Oct 28, 2025 - Business

Private equity firm to buy peanut butter brand Justin's

Dan Primack

Illustration of an opened peanut with a roll of money inside. — Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Private equity is carving peanut butter brand Justin's out of food giant Hormel, and bringing back founder Justin Gold.

The big picture: Big Food is doing more breaking up than buying up these days, whether it be Kraft Heinz, Unilever, or (maybe) PepsiCo.

Driving the news: Forward Consumer Partners will buy a 51% stake in Justin's from Hormel, which bought the business in 2016 and which will maintain a 49% ownership position.

No financial terms were disclosed.
Gold will return as a board member and strategic adviser, while former CEO Peter Burns will come back in the same role.

Zoom in: Justin's became something of an orphaned brand inside of Hormel, with a much smaller staff than when it was first acquired.

Talks between Hormel and FCP began years ago, and there was no formal auction process.
Once the deal closes later this year, expect a renewed focus on nut butter cups and similar snacks.

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Private equity firm to buy peanut butter brand Justin's

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