Online health and beauty retailer The Hut Group has bought North America’s leading weight management and sports nutrition retailer Ideal.
Cheshire-based THG is the market leader in Europe, with brands including Myprotein, Grow Gorgeous and Myvitamins among its portfolio of more than 100 high-profit health and beauty websites. It recently acquired Skinstore from Boots.
Ideal targets women with its IdealShape and IdealFit brands and is growing revenues by more than 250 per cent annually. Its products include weight management, protein shakes and supplements.
Launched in the USA in 2003, it makes use of user-generated content and is highly active on social media.
“The acquisition continues the expansion of THG’s consumer reach in North America, following the US launches of Myprotein and Lookfantastic and the recent acquisitions of Mio Skincare, Grow Gorgeous and Skinstore,” said THG in a statement.
THG chief executive Matt Moulding, who founded the firm in 2004 with chief financial officer John Gallemore, said: “I am delighted to welcome the Ideal Shape team to the Group.
“This is a genuinely innovative and popular brand with a fast growing and complementary customer base in the USA.
“We look forward to sharing our in-house manufacturing and technology platform to further develop the range and take the brand to new audiences around the world.”
THG claims that its products are used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide in more than 190 countries.
It has topped the Sunday Times profit track for two consecutive years.