WellSpring Consumer Healthcare, a developer and marketer of over-the-counter (OTC) and personal care brands, has announced the acquisition of vH essentials from Wisconsin Pharmacal Company. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This acquisition marks a another step for WellSpring, which is backed by Avista Healthcare Partners, a middle-market healthcare private equity firm known for building growth-oriented healthcare businesses.
vH essentials is a well-known brand offering a comprehensive portfolio of OTC products for women’s intimacy care. The brand includes product lines designed for everyday solutions, such as “Relieve” for protection, “Maintain” for daily support, and “Refresh” for clean and reset solutions. With a differentiated, clinically-backed portfolio and a strong focus on consumer relationships, vH essentials has established itself as a trusted name in feminine intimacy care. Its products are available through a broad network of leading brick-and-mortar retailers and e-commerce platforms, including Amazon.
Chris Brown, CEO of WellSpring, expressed his enthusiasm for the acquisition: “We are thrilled with the addition of vH essentials. WellSpring’s women’s health franchise is now anchored by two scaled high-growth brands, vH essentials and FDS, with exciting and compelling opportunities to accelerate growth in retail and e-commerce channels. vH essentials aligns with our core mission to improve the health and wellness of our consumers, and this acquisition helps to unlock the next leg of growth for WellSpring.”
Alex Yu, Partner at Avista Healthcare Partners, also highlighted the strategic benefits of the acquisition: “The addition of vH essentials to the WellSpring portfolio is exciting in many respects, as it adds another established, growing OTC brand to the portfolio, drives scale to the platform, and provides WellSpring with an additional avenue to launch impactful innovation to help address consumers’ self-care needs in women’s health.”
Fred Duchin, Chairman of WellSpring and a Strategic Executive of Avista, emphasized the synergy between the two companies: “This acquisition is highly synergistic and a logical strategic fit within the WellSpring portfolio, which focuses on the therapeutic skincare, digestive remedies, and women’s health categories. vH essentials® is an established brand trusted by consumers for efficacious products, and we are excited for the WellSpring team to build upon the brand’s strong foundation.”
The acquisition of vH essentials is WellSpring’s second add-on acquisition since Avista’s initial investment in August 2022, following the acquisition of A+D and Solarcaine from Bayer AG in April 2023.
