Six Questions with Next In Natural Founder and CEO Jeff Lichtenstein

From his role as the previous owner of sales advisory firm and distributor Gourmet Guru, which was sold to UNFI in 2016, to his current position as the founder and CEO of investment firm and advisor Next In Natural (NeNa), Jeff Lichtenstein has extensive experience in the natural and specialty retail space.

NeNa’s current portfolio currently includes plant-based yogurt brand Lavva, Scandinavian fiber crispbread maker GG Fiber Americas, organic deli company Organic Nuna and organic dairy company Sky Top Organics.

Lavva is NeNa’s most recent addition. In 2022, the investment firm acquired the plant-based yogurt brand’s assets. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. David Heller and Art Wrubel, both minority investors in the Philadelphia 76ers, as well as David Blitzer, the Global Head of Blackstone’s tactical opportunities group, also took part in the deal.

Lichtenstein recently talked to NOSH about the state of the organic and plant-based food space, mistakes young companies should try to avoid and what he looks for in a brand when deciding whether it’s a good fit for NeNa’s portfolio. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What are some of the key characteristics you look for to determine whether or not a brand in an emerging category will be successful?

[I always say] invest in the jockey and the trainer more than the horse. Finding a dynamic founder or operating partner is more important than the product [itself] because they’re going to fix the product if it’s not the best in class, but we do look for the best in class.

Optimally, we seek dynamic founders or operating partners, like Elizabeth [Fisher] from Lavva who’s a dynamo, whose heart and soul are in the better-for-you side of food and beverage. That’s really critical for us, the passion for the mission. And then we help out with all the back office accounting operations. We have a robust sales and marketing team; we have about 37 folks in the company that surround the founders with the team they need to thrive. Our biggest strength is our team of course, which is the best I’ve ever been a part of.

Are there any consistent issues or mistakes you see brands repeatedly making?

Not having a focus and go-to-market strategy is one, which basically results in running out your supply lines in terms of cash. It’s hard to launch an ecommerce business, a food service business and a retail business at once. I think people and new businesses especially will have to be more disciplined with that approach of their trade channel strategy.

How do you see the organic and plant-based space evolving? How do you see Next In Natural and its brands fitting into that context?

I see that there are a lot of retailers and etailers that want to support emerging brands and have more natural and organic [products]. But especially now, with the difficult environment, I’m hoping that they can sort of cater their support of these brands so the brands have the wherewithal to grow with those retailers, especially with the capital crunch that these brands are feeling. It’s hard to navigate through retail, which is an expensive environment.

You hear all kinds of stories about companies having to be creative with their financing. It’s a very difficult environment, for innovation and for smaller companies. That’s where we help because we bring the shared service model where we can save a company whose operational expenses are […] they can’t keep up with to grow the company.

You have a history in the natural and specialty retail space – how are you using the lessons you’ve learned from your past experiences to guide your decisions today?

I like to say smart people learn from their own mistakes, and brilliant people learn from other people’s mistakes and emulate their successes. So my job is to help out the founders [and] the operating partners avoid their own mistakes and emulate some of the successes that we’ve seen and been a part of. I think that’s the biggest thing, the value adds that we bring to the table.

When I was running Gourmet Guru, it was a consultancy incubator and distribution company in one. But the distribution side of the business worked on very thin margins. So we had to develop a lot of those operational and fiscal operational efficiencies, a fiscally conscientious approach. [At Next In Natural], we bring that core discipline into where we’ve helped companies that were losing $525,000 a month get down to $20,000 a month within six months, we’ve helped companies get there.

During a previous discussion with NOSH, you mentioned that the past few years have been a 1-2-3-4-5 punch with COVID, supply chain issues, inflation, the state of equity markets and the state of debt markets. Do you feel there will be any resolutions to these issues in the near future?

While I believe [2020-2023] has been the most difficult stretch of our lifetime for the vast majority of young companies, I do feel the Sovos acquisition by Campbell’s is going to spark the comeback of improved equity and, in turn, debt markets. Next In Natural is excited to fill the void for emerging brands that need a strong operating partner behind them and for investors that want a diverse and dynamic investment to minimize risk and maximize the potential.

Looking ahead, what is next for Next In Natural?

Our companies are growing organically. We’re very big on innovation. That’s something I’ve always been super passionate about in my career. So [we are] working on some really cool things and advancement for our current brands and we’re about to start our search for a strategic partner, as well. [We’ll be] looking potentially at an overseas company, looking for help in the USA that we can in turn work with for distribution channels in Asia or the EU.