2x Growth Partners Closes Fund III, Rebrands Firm

Twenty years after inception, investor 2X Growth Partners is shaking things up in a continued effort to help CPG brands reach new heights. The group announced yesterday its name was changing to Loft Growth Partners, a moniker it says better expresses the firm’s operating practices. The change comes as the firm also announced the close of its third fund.

The rebrand stems from a desire for a name that would telegraph the firm’s strategic difference, Andy Whitman, managing partner of Loft, said. Conveying how the firm is unique has become more important as numerous new investors have turned their attention to the CPG industry.

“The new name better communicates our purpose and the way we work with entrepreneurs in helping them get to the next level,” Whitman said. “It’s a better reflection of how we operate providing strategic support, insights, connections, and of course, capital.”

The firm also announced yesterday that it had closed Loft’s $60 million Fund III at the end of last year. Fund II, which closed in 2015, was for $40 million. With this extra capital, Whitman said, Loft will likely write slightly larger check sizes or invest in more companies. Funds I and II both saw investments into five brands.

Typically Loft invests in brands with $2 to $20 million in revenue. Over the lifetime of its relationship with companies, Loft will invest an average of $5 to $10 million, but initial checks are generally in the $1 to $2 million range. It’s a strategy Whitman says allows the firm to be more hands-on with its portfolio companies.

Loft’s investments include Good Karma, No Cow Beanitos, Blue Dog Bakery, The Seaweed Bath Co and Tasty Bite.

“By design, we partner with a smaller number of businesses and entrepreneurs then most funds,” he said. “It’s not better or worse, it’s just the model we believe in because it allows us to be a true partner to the companies and have the capacity to really help.”

Whitman is particularly proud of the individual investors in this fund, he said, including Walter Robb, former CEO at Whole Foods Market; Gary Hirshberg, former CEO and co-founder of Stonyfield Farm; Bridgette Heller, former president at Danone, Johnson & Johnson and Merck; and Marla Gottschalk, former CEO of Pampered Chef and board advisor to Ocean Spray.

Several of these investors have also joined the firm as new Industry Venture Partners, a role other firms might refer to as operating partners, including ecommerce expert Betsy McGinn, former INFRA CEO Corinne Shindelar, and Mars Wrigley VP Robin Vogel. Whitman said these partners help with diligence and deal sourcing, and then have a dedicated number of hours committed each month to assist portfolio companies.

The firm’s third partner, Liz Myslik, joined last April. A 20 year veteran of the natural products industry, Myslik was most recently a partner and chief growth officer at Boulder-based manufacturer Fresca Foods. With her addition, Loft hopes to establish another “home base” in Colorado, Whitman said. Mysilk added she left Fresca after over a decade because of a desire to more directly partner with emerging brands. While Fresca had placed some investments into companies, she said that first and foremost it was a manufacturing company.

Whitman added that he believes Loft’s portfolio companies will benefit from Myslik’s experience with manufacturing, particularly her work with emerging brands. Both Whitman and fellow managing partner Sharon Kieffer spent more time at large, global corporations before forming Loft.

“At the end of the day, we do this because we love what we’re doing,” Whitman said. “Each of us could have stayed in corporate America or been CEOs in the emerging brand world, but we do what we do because we love helping entrepreneurs and the businesses get to where they want to get to.”