The Riverside Co. is acquiring Parker Products, a specialty ingredients manufacturer. The deal comes several months after the privately-held Riverside Co. raised growth capital by selling a minority stake in its firm to Parkwood LLC.

Parker Products distributes ingredients for baking, dairy, beverage, confectionery, ready-to-eat, snack and foodservice providers. The investment from Riverside Co. is expected to allow the Fort Worth, Texas-based company to accelerate its growth by expanding its portfolio of products. These include such items as Agave-glazed quinoa, blueberry-rosemary fruit prep and peppermint candy.

Riverside Co. is one of the most active firms in the private equity space. Its minority stake sale last April follows the lead of other middle-market investment houses, such as Littlejohn & Co. LLC and Vista Equity Partners. At the same time, Riverside Co. raised a non-control investment fund, known as Riverside Strategic Capital Fund. The new fund is currently invested in six businesses, including: Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Bentley Laboratories, DuBois Chemicals, Fadata, North American Dental Group, and True Health Diagnostics.

Ingredient related deals have been picking up recently. SK Capital acquired a majority stake in Niacet Corp., a producer of salt ingredients; McCormick & Co. (NYSE: MKC) bought flavors manufacturer Enrico Giotti S.p.A; Maroon Group purchased Seidler Chemical; Monster Beverage Corp. agreed to buy American Fruits & Flavors; and Vantage Specialty Chemicals Inc., backed by the Jordan Co., acquired oils maker Mallet and Co. Haynes and Boone LLP is acting as legal adviser to Parker Products.