MYD Capital Partners advises consumer, retail and digital companies with €50M–€500M in annual revenue on selling, buying, forming partnerships and preparing for a transaction. Our work spans FMCG, ecommerce, agriculture and food production, food technology, textile and apparel, and quick-service restaurants — categories that differ in operation but share the same valuation logic: brand strength, margin resilience and the economics of the channel.
This is the sector where a single strong year is most likely to be mistaken for a trend, by owners and occasionally by advisors. Counterparties in consumer categories are trained to look past one year's result to the underlying margin trend, the durability of the channel relationship and the exposure to an input cost the business does not control.
Where we focus
- FMCG and branded consumer. Packaged food, beverage, household and personal care brands, where shelf position, category share and retailer relationships drive the multiple.
- Ecommerce and direct-to-consumer. Online-native brands and platforms, valued on contribution margin after acquisition cost, repeat rate and the concentration of traffic sources.
- Agriculture and food production. Primary production, processing and packaged food manufacturing, valued on facility capacity, food safety systems and customer diversification.
- Food technology. Ingredient innovation, alternative protein, processing technology and supply chain software serving the food industry.
- Textile and apparel. Manufacturers, brand owners and vertically integrated groups, where sourcing footprint, compliance record and working capital cycle are examined closely.
- Quick-service restaurants and food service. Operating groups and franchise systems, valued on unit economics, cohort performance of new openings and the terms of the franchise agreement.
- Retail and distribution. Specialty retail, wholesale distribution and trading businesses, where customer concentration and inventory discipline drive value.
What buyers and investors look for
Brand strength and channel position carry real weight. A recognized brand with stable retail or foodservice distribution is valued differently from a private-label supplier competing primarily on price, and that difference persists through cycles.
Counterparties also look for margin resilience against input cost swings — demonstrated either through contractual pass-through, hedging discipline or pricing power; a customer mix that is not concentrated in a small number of large accounts; current certifications where applicable, which protect market access; and a working capital cycle that has been managed rather than simply tolerated.
In ecommerce and direct-to-consumer, the examination concentrates on contribution margin after customer acquisition cost, repeat purchase behaviour by cohort, and traffic source concentration. A brand dependent on a single paid channel is valued as a media arbitrage, not as a brand.
In quick-service restaurants, unit-level economics and the performance of recent openings matter more than system-wide revenue.
What lowers valuation
Customer concentration in a handful of large retailers or distributors, where losing one relationship changes the trajectory of the business. Unhedged input cost exposure with no demonstrated management response. Single-facility production risk with no backup capacity. Lapsed or absent certifications, and any undocumented history of quality or safety incidents.
In ecommerce: acquisition cost rising faster than lifetime value, traffic concentrated in one platform, and inventory positions that mask the real working capital requirement. In textile and apparel: sourcing concentrated in one country or one supplier, and labour or environmental compliance gaps in the supply chain — increasingly a gating item for institutional acquirers rather than a negotiating point.
Across all categories: earnings presented without adjustment for seasonality, and add-backs that cannot be substantiated.
Cross-border interest
Consumer categories draw international strategic acquirers seeking category expansion, new product platforms or access to established distribution — frequently the most natural buyers in this sector. Private equity has been consistently active in consolidating platforms in branded food, specialty consumer and value-added categories. Family offices, some with generational holdings of their own, are drawn to businesses with durable brands or production assets.
Cross-border consumer transactions carry distinctive questions: whether brand rights are registered in the acquirer's target markets, whether supply chains survive a change of ownership, and whether the distribution relationships that create the value are contractual or personal.
Preparing for a transaction
A structured readiness process, aligned with The Goldsmith™, typically covers:
- Seasonality-adjusted financial reporting explaining normal-course earnings volatility
- Margin bridge analysis showing how input cost changes flow through to profitability
- Customer contract terms including pricing mechanisms, renewal and termination
- Supplier contract audit identifying concentration risk and renewal exposure
- Current certifications with full audit history, where applicable to the category
- Traceability systems demonstrating product origin and chain of custody
- Trademark and brand registration confirmed in every market of operation and every target market
- Cohort analysis of repeat purchase behaviour, for ecommerce and subscription models
- Contribution margin after acquisition cost, with traffic source concentration quantified
- Inventory ageing, obsolescence provisioning and true working capital requirement
- Facility capital expenditure records with deferred items identified
- Labour and environmental compliance across the supply chain, including sub-tier suppliers
- Unit economics and new-opening cohort performance, for restaurant and retail networks
Our Readiness Assessment benchmarks companies in this sector against these dimensions before a process begins.
How we work with consumer, retail and digital companies
Most engagements begin with The Goldsmith™, building the normalized earnings picture and the margin bridge that let a counterparty see through commodity and seasonal volatility to the underlying business. In ecommerce and direct-to-consumer, the equivalent work is the cohort and contribution margin analysis — which frequently changes how the owners themselves understand the business.
The Confluence™ then maps and approaches the counterparties most likely to value the specific brand, certifications and distribution relationships — branded strategics, distribution platforms, consumer-focused funds — and runs the process to signature. Where the objective is market entry, distribution or licensing rather than a sale, The Polarity™ structures it. Where a working capital cycle or seasonal facility is the real constraint, The Dawn™ addresses the capital structure first.
Frequently asked questions
Why do consumer and food businesses see wide swings between years?
Earnings are exposed to input costs, weather, seasonality and consumer cycles, any of which can move a single year's result significantly. Counterparties normalize across multiple years and look at margin trend, which is why multi-year, well-documented financials matter more here than in most sectors.
Does a private-label business sell for less than a branded one?
Generally yes, because private-label producers compete more on price and carry thinner, more volatile margins. Strong customer retention and favourable contract terms can offset part of the gap, but rarely all of it.
How much does certification matter?
In food and food-adjacent categories it is among the first items reviewed, because current certification protects market access and signals operational discipline. A lapsed certification is a common cause of diligence delay and can remove some acquirers entirely.
Our ecommerce brand grew quickly on paid acquisition. How is that valued?
On whether the customers stay. Cohort repeat behaviour and contribution margin after acquisition cost are what determine whether growth is compounding or renting. Preparing that analysis honestly before outreach is considerably better than having it produced by someone else during diligence.