Sunny Sky Products has acquired fellow US drinks supplier Bevolution Group from private-equity firm Highlander Partners.

Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal sees Houston-based Sunny Sky, which supplies dispensed drinks to foodservice and c-stores, expand its product portfolio. Sunny Sky itself is owned by private-equity firm TJC.

Bevolution, based in Chicago, sells drinks including cocktail mixes, juices, teas and lemonades to customers including bars, restaurants and coffee shops, as well as clients in the education and healthcare parts of the foodservice sector.

“This acquisition is highly strategic for Sunny Sky, adding well-respected brands including Dr. Smoothie and Tropics, further enhancing our existing product portfolio with clean label and preservative-free offerings and adding new manufacturing capabilities including hot fill,” Sunny Sky president Matt Maimone said.

The Bevolution business takes in three factories – one in Chicago, as well as others in Frostproof in Florida and in Fullerton in California.

Highlander Partners started building Bevolution when it acquired Juice Tyme in 2013. It made three acquisitions in subsequent years to add to that initial deal – Lemon-X and Tropics Mixology in 2015, plus Dr Smoothie a year later.

“This platform was built through an active M&A strategy and having closed more than thirty transactions in the food and beverage category in recent years, Highlander continues to actively pursue high-quality businesses in this sector as new platforms and add-ons for its current portfolio companies,” Highlander president and CEO Jeff Hull said.