A Miami Beach snack startup just landed a blockbuster exit. TRUBAR, the local plant‑based protein‑bar brand that quietly built a national following, has been sold to Turkey’s ETi Gıda in a $173 million deal. The founder and core team are not cashing out and walking away, though. They are staying on to run the brand as it plugs into a much larger global machine.
The company says the move is about scale, not a reset. TRUBAR has pitched itself as a clean‑label, better‑for‑you bar line, and under its new owner it is being positioned as a platform for international growth while keeping its existing products and employees in place.
In a press release via Business Wire, TRUBAR confirmed that ETi Gıda acquired 100% of the company in an all‑cash deal worth $173 million, with no earn‑out attached. Founder and CEO Erica Groussman will remain in her role, and the current leadership team and staff will continue operating the brand. The release casts the acquisition as a way to speed up TRUBAR’s North American expansion while opening doors to new international markets.
Speaking with Forbes, Groussman said the sale gives TRUBAR the manufacturing and distribution muscle it has been missing, and summed up her ambitions bluntly: "I want to see TRUBAR everywhere." According to Forbes, the company reached nearly $100 million in gross revenue in 2025 and expanded into more than 21,000 retail locations, including major chains and club stores.
Why ETi Moved In
ETi Gıda, a long‑standing family‑owned snacks group, is treating TRUBAR as a strategic doorway into the better‑for‑you segment in North America, according to industry coverage. As Food Business News reports, ETi’s leaders say that pairing their large‑scale operations with TRUBAR’s clean‑label lineup sets the brand up for long‑term global growth. Executives describe the deal as back‑end integration that keeps TRUBAR’s identity intact while plugging it into a worldwide distribution engine.
What It Means Locally
For Miami Beach, the message is that TRUBAR is not packing up. Company and industry statements indicate that the local operations and team will remain in place. Access to ETi’s factories and logistics network is expected to ease the capacity and supply‑chain squeeze that fast‑growing packaged‑goods brands often face. Coverage from FoodBev notes that ETi runs nine production facilities and employs nearly 8,500 people around the world, resources that can back TRUBAR’s scaling plans. For employees and shoppers, the short‑term promise is that the bars on the shelf will not change even as the company grows.
The Business Journals also covered the sale and emphasized TRUBAR’s Miami Beach roots along with the decision to keep local leadership in place after the deal. For the broader South Florida food scene, the acquisition is another sign that regional better‑for‑you startups can move from local favorite to global target in a hurry.
