Kingswood Capital Completes Investment in Poultry Company Soulshine Farms
Kingswood Capital Management LP has completed a strategic investment in Gainesville, Ga.-based further-processed poultry company Soulshine Farms LLC & Pearl River Foods (Soulshine), according to a release from the investment firm.
Kingswood operating partner John Niemann, a protein industry veteran and former executive for Cargill’s former turkey and cooked meats businesses, will assume the role of executive chairman for Soulshine upon closing of the deal, while founder Michael Farmer, Eric Reeves and Drew Hill will remain shareholders and hold executive leadership roles there.
Soulshine was founded in 2018 and specializes in poultry portioning, deboning, marination and packaging in three processing plants in Gainesville, Ga., and Carthage, Miss. It can custom-size and -shape products, producing a variety of items for foodservice brands, retail and other protein distribution channels, the release noted. It processes more than 6 million pounds of protein on a weekly basis.
Soulshine’s founders said Kingswood’s investment will allow the company to embark on a new chapter of growth. This is the latest food and beverage investment for Kingswood, and its second protein-focused acquisition — the firm acquired Branding Iron Holdings in November 2024.
About the Author
Andy Hanacek
Senior Editor
Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.