A private equity firm has bought the Desi Natural and Noga...

A private equity firm has bought the Desi Natural and Noga food brands, based in Farmingdale. Credit: Desi Fresh Foods

A Miami-based private equity firm has bought Farmingdale-made brands of Indian-style yogurt and other products, and formed a new company with plans to expand the product lines.

ICV Partners LLC bought the two brands — Noga and Desi Natural — and related assets Feb. 10 from Raymundo’s Food Group LLC, a portfolio company of AUA Private Equity Partners LLC in Manhattan. The companies declined to disclose the sale price.

With its two newly purchased brands, ICV formed a new company, Desi Fresh Foods, which will operate from the same Farmingdale plant where Noga and Desi Natural have been headquartered.

ICV invests in “lower middle-market” companies in the business services, consumer products, food and health care industries, according to the firm.

ICV bought the Noga and Desi Natural brands partly because they are market leaders in the dahi (Indian yogurt) space and present strong growth opportunities, particularly with American consumers’ tastes expanding in variety, said Qian Elmore, managing director of the Miami firm.

“We have a lot of enthusiasm here for ethnic foods in particular. We believe that the U.S. consumer is broadening their taste palate and becoming more adventurous,” he said.

ICV plans to add new retail customers by expanding Desi Fresh Foods' product lines, he said.

At the Farmingdale plant, Noga and Desi Natural brands of Indian-style foods are produced. The products include dahi and lassi, the latter of which is a yogurt-based drink similar to a smoothie, said Larry LaPorta, who was recently promoted to Desi Fresh Foods’ CEO after running the Farmingdale business as general manager since 2018.

In Farmingdale, Desi Fresh Foods also makes dips, sour cream and other products that business customers sell under their own labels, he said.

Also, a New Jersey company manufactures other products in the Desi Natural line, including paneer, an Indian cheese, and dahi, for Desi Fresh Foods, he said.

LaPorta declined to disclose sales numbers for the Desi Natural and Noga brands.

The business is seeing two main types of consumer segments in the marketplace, LaPorta said.

One of those segments is made up of consumers of South Asian descent, most likely India-born immigrants to the United States who want to continue the traditions of cooking Indian food at home, he said.

The other is the mainstream consumer or “foodie,” who was born in the United States and is looking for both convenience and authentic flavors and ingredients, he said.

Desi Fresh Foods employs 30 people in Farmingdale.

The company’s products are sold in ethnic grocery stores, such as Patel Brothers, a U.S.-based grocery chain that focuses on foods found in India and the Middle East, and by mainstream big-box retailers, such as Costco and Walmart.

Some Noga and Desi history

  • Noga Dairy was founded in Brooklyn by Eli Paz and Zami Leinson in 1992, then relocated to Farmingdale circa 2000. Raymundo’s Food Group bought Noga in 2016, and the founders left the business two years later.
  • Derle Farms Inc., a Bethpage-based family-owned business, launched the Desi Natural brand in 2000. Raymundo’s Food Group bought the brand and integrated it into the Farmingdale facility in 2018.
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