Private equity company The Everstone Group has invested $35 million in Mumbai-based OmniActive to further accelerate the latter’s growth in the fast-expanding nutraceuticals space. The deal is Everstones third in the healthcare and wellness sector in less than a year.

OmniActive is a supplier of naturally sourced ingredients for eye health, weight management and heart health to global nutraceutical companies that provide food supplements and nutritional fortification. In the last 18 months, OmniActive completed 12 human clinical trials in healthy populations across its portfolio of branded ingredients. The company has a presence in the US and is said to be working to achieve similar success in Europe and Asia.

The Everstone investment—which gives it a significant minority stake—will, the company said, help OmniActive in diversifying and expanding its offerings. OmniActive will use the transaction proceeds from this deal in its inorganic growth strategy and execute the acquisition opportunities it has identified.

"This investment aims at helping OmniActive scale its already strong presence in the fast-growing nutraceutical space,” said Sameer Sain, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Everstone Group. “We are excited about partnering with the Mariwala family and building a world class global business."

OmniActive was founded in 2005 and, over the last decade, has emerged as the leading nutraceutical ingredient supplier to international markets from India, helped by the gradual shift in the nutraceuticals sector towards greater consumption of natural products.

"We welcome this partnership with the Everstone Group,” said Sanjaya Mariwala, Managing Director, OmniActive. “With the support of its experienced teams and funding, OmniActive looks forward to building on our history of solid organic growth by further strengthening our presence globally using innovative products and technologies. This will be done by also growing inorganically to bring a wider product portfolio of responsibly made ingredients to our customers through our strategic acquisitions.”

The global nutraceuticals supplements market was estimated at $108 billion in 2014 and is expected to touch $168 billion by 2020. The US is the largest market with slightly over a one-third of global sales. In India, according to a study published by ASSOCHAM, the nutraceuticals industry is expected to reach $6.1 billion by 2020. The growth in India will be fuelled by rising awareness about lifestyle diseases and the need for healthier lifestyles; the spread of urbanization; an increasing middle-class population with more disposable income; and the rising demand for supplementary nutrition for a healthier life.