Carol Ortenberg

What do you do once you’ve sold your beverage brand to Coca-Cola for millions, written a book about the experience and started a new plant-based investment fund? If you’re Mark Rampolla, the answer is you take a job for free. Today Beanfields Snacks announced Rampolla will be joining the company as CEO but draw no salary in the role.

Capital can come in many forms. At some stages, cold hard cash has its role, but some, entrepreneurs are looking to investors who can also bring social capital and strategic advice to their companies. Darren Rovell, a sports business reporter at ESPN, sought to meet that need when he brought together a group of 25 high net worth investors and family offices to make up his new investment group, Tastemaker Capital Partners.

As the retail landscape becomes more crowded, having the right distributor is key to a brand’s success– especially during a brand’s formative years. At NOSH Live Summer 2017 earlier this month, Jeremy Isenberg, President Chex Finer Foods, reflected on the history of distribution, as well as looked forward at what the future of distribution may hold.

Following the Friday announcement that e-commerce pioneer Amazon would be purchasing natural products retailer Whole Foods Market, there has been rampant discussion over what the merger means for the retailer and industry. In communications to team members, both through email and a “town hall meeting” at Whole Foods headquarters, some information has come to light.

In a deal that’s shaking the shopping experience for consumers, retailers, and food and beverage companies, Amazon’s scooping up of Whole Foods for $13.7 billion on Friday has hardened talk of large-scale disruption in the way consumers buy their groceries. The deal is the largest U.S. grocery transaction since a $17.4 billion takeover of Albertsons, according to Mergermarket. Here’s an in-depth look into the acquisition and its implications for the retailers and beyond.

Asking the average consumer how their fish gets into stores likely results in blank stares– and that’s only one of the issues facing the seafood industry. Many seafood companies are working to revamp the category’s product offerings to better reel in consumers. But Fishpeople CEO Ken Plasse said he thinks his seafood-focused CPG brand and supplier may be able to provide some extra bait with the company’s Tuesday announcement of a $12M round of funding.

Tuesday morning, ECRM announced the acquisition of tech company RangeMe, a software that allows buyers to discover new CPG products based on specific criteria.

Asian-inspired food brand Nona Lim announced Monday the closing of a $3 million round of funding. Led by Harbinger Ventures, the round also included Echo Capital Group, Navama & Kouffman LCC, CircleUp and Cambridge Companies SPG as investors

Big strategics looked to both invest and acquire in the past two weeks, looking to a fund, a coffee company, and a delivery platform for revenue expansion. Here’s a look at the deals:

At the 2017 Sweets and Snacks Expo this week in Chicago, Illinois legume-based snacking brand HIPPEAS booth was pulsing with excitement – both due to the brand’s popularity in retail, but also thanks to the announcement that Strand Equity Partners and Academy Award-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio have joined as investors.