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Realized portfolio

Businesses that we’ve grown and exited

Western Smokehouse Partners

In 2018, we acquired Western’s Smokehouse — the preferred manufacturing solution for the top brands and retailers in premium crafted protein snacks — thus creating Western Smokehouse Partners. In 2019, we added Thrushwood Farms to the family. Thrushwood specializes in producing snack sticks, meat bites and meat bars for the top natural and gourmet brands in the category. In 2020, we acquired Prairie Sky Snacks, a family owned contract manufacturer in Springfield, IL and maker snack sticks and human-grade pet treats.

Finally, in 2023, after five years in our portfolio, Western Smokehouse Partners was acquired by AUA Private Equity.

Learn more about the WS journey here and in the below video interviews with WS management. 

Reflections from the Western Smokehouse Team

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For more video content, please visit our YouTube channel.

Kohana Coffee

In 2021, we acquired Kohana Coffee. Kohana Coffee is a market leading manufacturer in the high-growth cold brew segment. Kohana has a proprietary cold brew process which enables shelf stability without heating the coffee, creating a smooth, low-acid, authentic cold brew product which can be shipped and stored in ambient temperatures. Additionally, Kohana offers world class formulation and production capabilities in ready-to-drink canned coffees featuring high-end ingredients like oat milk, almond milk, adaptogens, protein and other functional ingredients. Kohana sells products through its own brand, retail store brands and as a co-packer.

Leadership

The Charis Consumer Collaborative maintains a lean team focused on the success of its companies. For each business unit, we add category specific advisors and mentors. We are operators first, meaning we don’t spend all our time fundraising and running an investment firm. Instead, we get to work alongside our companies to help them reach their goals.

Ben Rudman

Co-CEO

Ken Plasse

Co-CEO

Advisor

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  • Mark is an experienced senior executive with over thirty years in the CPG Industry. He has proven abilities in corporate strategy development, organization structure, talent management, brand leadership, supply chain excellence and customer development. Mark’s strong interpersonal, problem-solving and project-management skills were demonstrated in his positions as CEO of Merical LLC and COO of Pharmavite. At both companies, Mark was responsible for marketing, sales, finance, operations, human resources, science and technology, legal and regulatory, and information technology. At Merical, he nearly doubled gross margins while adding gummy capability as a growth engine. At Pharmavite, he led the largest US branded nutritional supplement business (Nature Made brand) in Food, Drug, Mass and Club markets. Mark led the growth of Pharmavite from $500M in sales to nearly $800M in four years. Prior to Pharmavite, Mark spent nearly 20 years at Mars, Inc. working in executive leadership and a variety of operational roles across the confection, pet care, and food business units.
  • Mark also served as COO at Corr-Jensen, a rapidly growing sports nutrition company, as well as COO at Twinlab, a legacy sports nutrition and dietary supplement company. He built the supply chain, business infrastructure, and organizational structure to grow Corr-Jensen from $25M in sales to over $100M. At Twinlab, Mark built the corporate turnaround plan to slash SG&A by 40% and trim product offerings to return the business to profitability.

Advisor

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  • Jim is a results oriented leader with deep experience in the consumer products industry. Jim is currently the CEO at Oregon Freeze Dry and was most recently President and CEO of Red Collar Pet Foods, a leading private label and national brand contract manufacturer of pet food and treats. During his time at Red Collar, Cohen oversaw the successful sale of its dry kibble pet food manufacturing business to the Colgate-Palmolive Company in August 2022 to support the growth of its Hill’s Pet Nutrition business, as well as the sale of its Miami, Okla., pet treat plant to Nestlé Purina PetCare in February 2023. He has held leadership positions for over 30 years, including roles in several categories at Mars, Inc. He began his career at Aramark and has advised an array of clients on a range of operational matters through his own consultancy.
  • In addition to his operating background, Jim has broad experience in operational and financial roles including M&A due diligence, business integration, leading all aspects of the value chain and managing government agency and industry association relationships.
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Ben Rudman

CEO

Ben Rudman

  • CEO

  • Ben Rudman has extensive experience in building contract manufacturing companies in the consumer goods sector as both a financial sponsor and CEO. From 2018 to 2023, as CEO and Executive Chairman of Western Smokehouse, he spearheaded enterprise value growth of 10x in just over 4 years. Ben managed two strategic acquisitions, expanded facilities by over 100,000 square feet, and led $50M in capital projects, including a new plant. He also secured multi-year contracts with major revenue contributors, new retail relationships and established branded and private label market routes.
  • Ben also led the acquisition and successful exit of Kohana Coffee, enhancing commercial efforts, food safety, and finance operations before its sale in 2022.
  • Currently, as Executive Chairman of The Honest Stand, a fresh prepared foods manufacturer, Ben has been involved in the company's growth of nearly 20x since 2021.

Ben Dennis

Vice President

Ben Dennis

  • Vice President

  • Ben Dennis has an extensive background in strategic finance, technology, and specialty manufacturing. His expertise has supported numerous companies on their journeys towards operational improvement, growth, and successful exits.
  • In 2023, Ben led the successful sale of Mile Hi Foods, a high-capacity baking, logistics, and warehousing services company to Grupo Bimbo (GRBMF). Helping the 3rd generation family-owned business realize a return on the Company they had built over the last 70+ years.
  • Prior to the Mile Hi Foods worked in Investment Banking and for several private equity backed businesses where he served in a variety of finance and product management roles throughout the Western United States.

Jim Cohen

Advisor

Jim Cohen

  • Advisor

  • Jim is a results oriented leader with deep experience in the consumer products industry. Jim is currently the CEO at Oregon Freeze Dry and was most recently President and CEO of Red Collar Pet Foods, a leading private label and national brand contract manufacturer of pet food and treats. During his time at Red Collar, Cohen oversaw the successful sale of its dry kibble pet food manufacturing business to the Colgate-Palmolive Company in August 2022 to support the growth of its Hill’s Pet Nutrition business, as well as the sale of its Miami, Okla., pet treat plant to Nestlé Purina PetCare in February 2023. He has held leadership positions for over 30 years, including roles in several categories at Mars, Inc. He began his career at Aramark and has advised an array of clients on a range of operational matters through his own consultancy.
  • In addition to his operating background, Jim has broad experience in operational and financial roles including M&A due diligence, business integration, leading all aspects of the value chain and managing government agency and industry association relationships.

Mark Walsh

Advisor

Mark Walsh

  • Advisor

  • Mark is an experienced senior executive with over thirty years in the CPG Industry. He has proven abilities in corporate strategy development, organization structure, talent management, brand leadership, supply chain excellence and customer development. Mark’s strong interpersonal, problem-solving and project-management skills were demonstrated in his positions as CEO of Merical LLC and COO of Pharmavite. At both companies, Mark was responsible for marketing, sales, finance, operations, human resources, science and technology, legal and regulatory, and information technology. At Merical, he nearly doubled gross margins while adding gummy capability as a growth engine. At Pharmavite, he led the largest US branded nutritional supplement business (Nature Made brand) in Food, Drug, Mass and Club markets. Mark led the growth of Pharmavite from $500M in sales to nearly $800M in four years. Prior to Pharmavite, Mark spent nearly 20 years at Mars, Inc. working in executive leadership and a variety of operational roles across the confection, pet care, and food business units.
  • Mark also served as COO at Corr-Jensen, a rapidly growing sports nutrition company, as well as COO at Twinlab, a legacy sports nutrition and dietary supplement company. He built the supply chain, business infrastructure, and organizational structure to grow Corr-Jensen from $25M in sales to over $100M. At Twinlab, Mark built the corporate turnaround plan to slash SG&A by 40% and trim product offerings to return the business to profitability.

Personal investments, board seats, and operating roles

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