Houlihan Lokey Advises Protein Works

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce that Protein Works, a portfolio company of YFM Equity Partners, has been acquired by Lactalis. The transaction closed on 1 June 2026.

Founded in 2012, Protein Works innovates, makes, and sells a wide range of protein-based nutrition products designed for health and well-being. Its portfolio includes protein shakes, meal shakes, savoury options, wellness supplements, and protein snacks. The company, which has been backed by YFM Equity Partners since 2019, and whose uninterrupted U.K. growth has been supported by strong performance in its strategic international markets, generates annual revenues of approximately £55 million and has sold 500 million shakes to date.

Protein Works operates a fully integrated model, with products manufactured at its recently opened, state-of-the-art facility in Speke, Liverpool, and distributed through its direct-to-consumer U.K. and native EU websites. The brand has a strong connection with its c. 3 million customers and has built a loyal following, which has helped it establish a solid position in the U.K. It also operates across several European markets, including Germany, France, Ireland, and Italy.

Lactalis is a French family business, the world’s leading dairy group, founded in Laval, France, in 1933 with a single mission: nurturing a responsible future by pledging to provide the best dairy products possible, to support everyone’s growth, in partnership with local territories.

The acquisition brings together Lactalis’ scale and expertise in brand, supply chain, and FMCG grocery distribution, with Protein Works’ expertise in functional nutrition and D2C capabilities to deliver greater synergies for both entities. By integrating Protein Works, Lactalis is expanding its range and portfolio of nutritional products, which already includes category-leading brands such as Delical in clinical nutrition.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Protein Works, assisting in the structuring and negotiation of key aspects of the transaction. The transaction further reinforces Houlihan Lokey’s strong track record in the consumer health sector, having recently advised on the sales of Wisconsin Whey Protein to FrieslandCampina, SlimFast U.K. to Supreme, SlimFast U.S. to Heartland, OWYN to Simply Good, and Volac’s Whey Nutrition business to Arla Foods Ingredients, as well as investments in Sunday Natural by CVC, in yfood by Nestlé, and in Dikey Vitamin Group by Nestlé Health Science.

RELATED: Consumer, Mergers and Acquisitions