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New York City-based Sycamore Partners has acquired Jersey Shore-born superfruit bowl franchise Playa Bowls from Tamarix Equity Partners for an undisclosed sum.

In a Sept. 3 press release announcing the transaction, Sycamore said it expects to speed up growth of the concept in the U.S.

Founded in 2014 by Abby Taylor and Rob Giuliani, Playa Bowls offers acai, green pitaya and coconut bowls as well as juices, cold brew and smoothies.

Since Tamarix took on the concept in August 2021, Playa Bowls has added more than 150 franchised locations. Now, the brand is considered a leader in the superfruit bowl shop segment, with a footprint of over 250 stores across 22 states.

In the past year, Playa Bowls has also made some key leadership changes. In October 2023, Nicolle DuBose was announced as chief marketing officer, succeeding Taylor, who will continue as chief branding officer. The company also named Dan Harmon as CEO, taking over the role from Giuliani, who remains chief innovation officer.

Play on, Playa

In a statement, Stefan Kaluzny, managing director of Sycamore, said, “Playa Bowls has built a unique category leadership position with passionate customers, a loyal franchise base, and a great brand, which has allowed the company to scale rapidly in its first decade since inception.”

“We are confident Playa Bowls has continued runway for growth and we look forward to partnering with Dan and his talented team to implement their strategy to reach more customers around the country,” Kaluzny said.

Commenting on the acquisition, Harmon said, “We are excited to be partnering with Sycamore as we take this next step in the Playa Bowls journey. After a decade of hard work building a strong foundation, we believe Sycamore’s support and resources, as well as their expertise in managing multi-unit-franchise operations, will help us accelerate our growth as w continue to support our franchisees and delight our guests.”

Sycamore’s portfolio of consumer, distribution and retail-related investments includes The Goddard School, Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant, Staples, The Limited, Hot Topic and Talbots. Since its inception in 2011, Sycamore has raised over $10 billion in aggregate committed capital from investors.

Mark Hauser, managing partner of Tamarix, added, “Consistent with our strategy of investing first institutional capital into founder-owned businesses, Tamarix is proud to have helped build Playa Bowls into a leading national franchise platform … We are thrilled with the outcome of this transaction and look forward to watching Playa Bowls’ continued expansion.”

Tamarix, which was founded in 1993, has invested more than $1 billion over the past three decades to help support accelerated growth strategies by companies. Its family includes prefabricate modular building manufacturer Diamond Builders, swimming pool service provider PSP and kitchen equipment distribution platform FoodPrep Solutions.

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