Nestlé buying Lykes offspring Vitality Foodservice of Tampa

A company with ties to a business empire of old will be joining a more modern dynasty soon with the purchase of Tampa's Vitality Foodservice Inc. by Nestlé of Switzerland.

Vitality was created in 1999 from the former Lykes Brothers juice operation, part of a Tampa-based conglomerate dating to the 1870s whose operations once included farming, ranching, mining, banking and one of the world's largest shipping lines.

Vitality is still headquartered in the Colonial Bank tower at 400 N. Tampa St., formerly the Lykes building, and two top executives have returned from the old company. But the similarities end there. The company Nestlé is acquiring has been re-engineered, said Vitality CEO Gary Viljoen, and now does $230 million a year in custom beverage sales.

"We have the innovation of Apple, the quality of Lexus and the service of Nordstrom," and that created an interest in Nestlé," Viljoen said. "It's a testament to the team here."

You can see Vitality's products and equipment nearly everywhere beverages are served, he said. A large part of the company's operations are in machine dispensing. Vitality has partnerships with Tetley tea and the juice companies Ocean Spray and Sunkist, a former Lykes Brothers label. It also works with wholesaling giant Sysco.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The deal was expected to close 30 days after a Nov. 19 announcement. Vitality is a portfolio company of the private equity firm Goldner Hawn of Minnesota.

Vitality will remain largely intact, Viljoen said, as it becomes a part of Nestlé Professional, a wholesale dealer of hot and cold non-carbonated beverages and beverage service.

Viljoen will become vice president and general manager of Nestlé's beverage division in North America. The purchase will create Nestlé Professional Vitality Beverage Solutions. Nestlé already has a presence in the Bay area through its Zephyrhills spring water operation in Pasco County, part of Pennsylvania-based Nestlé Waters North America.

Vitality has 700 employees, 100 of them in Tampa. Today's combined North American sales by Nestlé Professional and Vitality are expected to grow by 35 percent during the next five years, Viljoen said.

More workers may be added, but Viljoen wouldn't speculate how many. The company, though, is considering expanding to another floor of the 36-story Colonial Bank tower, he said.

With the purchase, the headquarters of Nestlé Professional in North America will move from Glendale, Calif., to Tampa. Vitality has Amsterdam-based European operations that are not part of the sale. It has North American manufacturing centers in Chicago and Canada.

"For Tampa, it's very encouraging and positive," Viljoen said. "It creates a platform to bring in new people and business."

For example, as many as 300 to 400 people at a time will visit Tampa for training sessions through Nestlé, he said.