Narayan Group, a Slovenia-based producer of organic coconut and superfood products, has announced a planned acquisition by Edible Garden AG Incorporated.
The two companies have signed a non-binding letter of intent to enter into a share purchase agreement that would see Edible Garden — a leader in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) and locally grown, organic, and sustainable produce — acquire the outstanding share capital of Narayan Group and its subsidies. The shareholders of Narayan Group will then become the controlling shareholders of Edible Garden.
Narayan Group achieved over $22 million in revenue in the first nine months of 2024 and expects fourth-quarter revenue in excess of $9.5 million. With the help of the company’s vertically integrated supply chain and leadership in the European market, along with Edible Garden’s product placement within its North American distribution network and expertise in CEA, the companies expect to achieve combined revenues of more than $60 million in 2025.
“This value acquisition should position us to create meaningful value for our shareholders by meeting the growing demand for sustainable, plant-based food products,” said Jim Kras, CEO of Edible Garden. “We believe this transaction will provide us with immediate value, allow us to introduce Narayan’s products into the North American market, and provide a much stronger base to grow in the future. Our combined strategy will be to build on Narayan’s footprint in Europe with their ability to acquire other successful product offerings and to expand those through our established and growing North American channels.”
“Transformative opportunity”
In recent years, Narayan has helped to launch vegan honey made by US company MeliBio to the European market through various private-label partnerships. The collaboration has seen the honey roll out at thousands of European retail locations, including ALDI-owned Hofer stores.
In 2022, Narayan announced a scaling platform for plant-based protein innovations, enabling industrialisation and commercialisation for startups and scale-ups with innovative solutions for meat, fish, dairy, and other animal protein alternatives.
“We believe this strategic transaction with Edible Garden represents a transformative opportunity to combine Narayan’s high-growth business model and strong European market leadership with Edible Garden’s innovative CEA technology and established distribution channels in North America,” said Mario Brumat, CEO of Narayan Group. “Together, we expect to be able to accelerate market expansion, particularly in the U.S. and Canada, by delivering products that meet rising consumer demand for organic and sustainable food products.”
