Avista Healthcare

Addition of vH essentials® bolsters scale, portfolio diversity, and provides opportunities to accelerate WellSpring’s fast-growing Women’s Health segment

SARASOTA, Fla., Aug. 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — WellSpring Consumer Healthcare (“WellSpring”), a developer and marketer of leading over-the-counter (“OTC”) and personal care brands, today announced the acquisition of vH essentials® from Wisconsin Pharmacal Company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. WellSpring Consumer Healthcare is a portfolio company of Avista Healthcare Partners (“Avista”), a leading middle-market healthcare private equity firm with expertise in building growth-oriented healthcare businesses.

vH essentials® offers a comprehensive portfolio of OTC products for women’s intimacy care. vH essentials® offers product lines designed for every-day problem solutions, including protection (“Relieve”), daily support (“Maintain”), and clean and reset solutions (“Refresh”). The brand’s differentiated and clinically-backed portfolio, enhanced focus on consumer relationships, and supportive messaging around women’s health have reinforced vH essentials® as the “go-to” brand for feminine intimacy care. The brand’s products are distributed through an extensive network of leading brick-and-mortar retailers and e-commerce channels such as Amazon.

Chris Brown, CEO of WellSpring, said: “We are thrilled with the addition of vH essentials®. WellSpring’s women’s health franchise is now anchored by two scaled high-growth brands, vH essentials® and FDS®, with exciting and compelling opportunities to accelerate growth in retail and e-commerce channels. vH essentials® aligns with our core mission to improve the health and wellness of our consumers, and this acquisition helps to unlock the next leg of growth for WellSpring.”

Alex Yu, Partner at Avista Healthcare Partners, said: “The addition of vH essentials® to the WellSpring portfolio is exciting in many respects, as it adds another established, growing OTC brand to the portfolio, drives scale to the platform, and provides Wellspring with an additional avenue to launch impactful innovation to help address consumers’ self-care needs in women’s health.”

Fred Duchin, Chairman of WellSpring and a Strategic Executive of Avista, said: “This acquisition is highly synergistic and a logical strategic fit within the WellSpring portfolio, which focuses on the therapeutic skincare, digestive remedies and women’s health categories. vH essentials® is an established brand trusted by consumers for efficacious products, and we are excited for the WellSpring team to build upon the brand’s strong foundation.”

The acquisition of vH essentials® represents WellSpring’s second add-on acquisition since Avista’s initial investment in August 2022, following a portfolio acquisition of A+D® and Solarcaine® from Bayer AG in April 2023.

ABOUT WELLSPRING CONSUMER HEALTHCARE

Founded in 1999 in Sarasota, Florida, WellSpring develops and markets a diversified portfolio of trusted OTC brands in the U.S. and Canada, with several that enjoy leading positions in important needs-based product segments such as therapeutic skincare, digestive health and women’s health. The WellSpring portfolio includes well-known therapeutic skincare brands such as A+D® (diaper rash and skin protectant), Bactine® (germ-focused skincare) and Solarcaine® (medicated sunburn relief), category-leaders in digestive health such as Bonine® (motion sickness) and Emetrol® (anti-nausea), and established women’s health brands such as vH essentials® (intimacy care) and FDS® (intimacy care + body sprays). WellSpring is an established consumer healthcare platform with a sophisticated omni-channel distribution network that includes leading brick and mortar and e-commerce retailers, a robust new product innovation infrastructure, and a strong growth trajectory. Learn more at https://wellspringpharm.com/.

ABOUT AVISTA HEALTHCARE PARTNERS

Founded in 2005, Avista Healthcare Partners is a leading New York-based private equity firm with over $8 billion invested in over 45 growth-oriented healthcare businesses globally. Avista partners with businesses across the healthcare space that feature strong management teams, stable cash flows and robust growth prospects – targeting businesses with clear scale potential across six sub-sectors experiencing strong tailwinds. The team is supported by a group of seasoned Strategic Executives enhancing the entire investment process through strategic insight, operational oversight and senior counsel, which helps drive growth and performance, while fostering sustainable businesses and creating long-term value for all stakeholders. For more information, visit www.avistacap.com or follow Avista on LinkedIn.

Media contacts:

Daniel Yunger / William Halliday
Kekst CNC
[email protected] / [email protected]