Emerald Lake Announces Sale of Inno-Pak

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Feb. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Emerald Lake Capital Management ("Emerald Lake"), a middle market private equity firm investing in capital-efficient businesses with sustainable competitive advantages and strong growth prospects in the industrials and services sectors, today announced the sale of Inno-Pak, LLC ("Inno-Pak" or the "Company"), a leading designer, manufacturer, importer and supplier of innovative, eco-friendly packaging for prepared and takeout foods, to Handgards, a portfolio company of Wynnchurch Capital. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Delaware, Ohio, Inno-Pak holds more than 170 design and utility patents on products ranging from nested paper takeout containers, soup cups and transparent lids, flat bottom laminated bag systems for rotisserie chickens, and multi-substrate bakery/deli cartons. InnoPak's products span multiple substrates – including paperboard, paper, flexible films, rigid plastic, and corrugated – a differentiator that enables the Company to adapt quickly to changing customer needs and preferences. 

Since partnering with Emerald Lake in 2020, Inno-Pak has made strides in new product innovation, more than doubling its patent portfolio, while also making significant investments in its manufacturing and distribution footprint. The Company opened its first scaled domestic production facility in 2023, a greenfield plant in Ohio which included an expansion of its primary distribution center, and in 2022 opened in Nevada an additional distribution center to add capacity and support for West Coast customers. Inno-Pak also completed three strategic acquisitions to expand its product offerings, geographic presence and manufacturing capacity – Stalk Market in 2022 and Finishing Services Inc. and Albany Packaging in 2023. Inno-Pak has strengthened its team with the buildout of its sales organization as well as several senior leadership hires.

"We're pleased to have partnered with the Inno-Pak team to support the Company's growth and continued ability to meet demand for eco-friendly packaging solutions as customer preferences shift towards prepared foods coming from supermarkets and app-based delivery," said Dan Lukas, Managing Partner of Emerald Lake. "We have been continually impressed by Inno-Pak's differentiated ability to work across multiple substrates and product types to meet the full spectrum of prepared food packaging needs. We are proud of what the Company has accomplished to expand product development, manufacturing, distribution, and sales. We appreciate the efforts of Chris Sanzone, Jon and Todd Sill, and the rest of the Inno-Pak team in driving the Company's success during our partnership. We wish Inno-Pak continued success as part of Handgards."

"Over the past five years, Inno-Pak has experienced tremendous growth across our product portfolio, manufacturing footprint, and team capabilities," said Chris Sanzone, Chief Executive Officer of Inno-Pak. "We are grateful for our partnership with the Emerald Lake team, who share our growth ambitions, culture of innovation and focus on remaining adaptable to meet the needs of our customers. We look forward to a productive partnership with Handgards, which has a proven track record in our industry which will help us to unlock our next chapter of growth."

Baird and BMO Capital Markets served as financial advisers to Inno-Pak. Kirkland & Ellis LLP acted as legal adviser to Emerald Lake and the Company.

About Emerald Lake Capital Management

Emerald Lake is a middle market private equity firm investing in capital-efficient businesses with sustainable competitive advantages and strong growth prospects in the industrials and services sectors. Emerald Lake seeks to accelerate company growth and unlock potential through supportive, trusting partnerships with management teams and a proven-value creation strategy. Founded in 2018, the firm manages approximately $1.4 billion of equity capital across its portfolio. For more information, please visit www.elcm.com.

About Inno-Pak

Founded in 1992, Inno-Pak is a North American leader in innovative, sustainable, high-quality food packaging for the food service, grocery, convenience store and hospitality industries. Inno-Pak has a broad range of more than 100 patented products across multiple substrates, supported by robust manufacturing capabilities – which include sheeting/printing, die cutting, windowing, gluing and forming – and design services. Inno-Pak designs its innovative products specifically to address the needs of its direct customers and end consumers in the growing prepared food and takeout sectors. All of Inno-Pak's manufacturing facilities are certified food-safe by global standards and maintain rigorous standards for quality.

As a proud member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, Inno-Pak focuses almost exclusively on packaging that is recyclable, reusable, compostable, or a combination of all three categories. Inno-Pak is the creator of the Compostable INNOBOX EDGE™, the only paperboard takeout carton certified compostable by the Biodegradable Products Institute. Headquartered in Delaware, Ohio, Inno-Pak has production facilities in the United States and Canada and offices in Houston, Portland, Oregon, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

About Handgards

Handgards, headquartered in El Paso, Texas, is a leading distributor of foodservice products, including disposable gloves, reclosable bags, tabletop items, expendables, and other carryout products. For more information, please visit: www.handgards.com.

About Wynnchurch Capital

Wynnchurch Capital, L.P., headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois, with an affiliate in Canada, was founded in 1999 and is a leading middle-market private equity investment firm. Wynnchurch's strategy is to partner with middle market companies in the United States and Canada that possess the potential for substantial growth and profit improvement. Wynnchurch manages a number of private equity funds with $9.2 billion of regulatory assets under management and specializes in recapitalizations, growth capital, management buyouts, corporate carve-outs, and restructurings. Recently, Wynnchurch acquired Astro Shapes, a leading manufacturer of custom aluminum extrusions. Other recent investments include: Principal Industries, a leading provider of LED components and engineered assemblies; ORS Nasco, North America's largest pure wholesaler of industrial MRO supplies; and Hydraulic Technologies, a market leader in high-pressure hydraulic tools. For more information, please visit: http://www.wynnchurch.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

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SOURCE Emerald Lake Capital Management