Food Industry News, Insights, and Education for the CPG Community

In the month since Natural Products Expo West closed, food and beverage companies have announced millions of dollars’ worth of investment, from strategic investment in companies like Juicero and Body Armor to advanced funding rounds in brands like Perky Jerky and Health Ade.

Last week equity and investment crowdfunding platform CircleUp and venture capital firm the Collaborative Fund announced the launch of Collab+Consumer, a new fund on CircleUp for early-stage, mission-driven companies in retail, apparel, CPG and pet care.

While the Expo West frenzy has almost died down, many of the brands that exhibited at the show are now seeing pickup by retailers both big and small.

This week private equity firm VMG Partners and algae-based food maker TerraVia (formerly Solazyme, Inc) announced the formation of a new venture, TerraBrands. The new group, which will function as a part of TerraVia, will acquire or invest in leading food and beverage companies that would like to incorporate TerraVia’s algae-based ingredients into their products.

Last week, Acosta, one of the largest grocery brokers in the world, announced that it had acquired Ignite Sales & Marketing, following a sales process run by Whipstitch capital. The purchase brings a high-touch set of account managers who foster the growth of mid-sized businesses into a brokerage and sales strategy firm that deals with the largest companies in the world.

Lori King, who has been responsible for the company’s sales growth and financial stability for the past two decades, will take the stage to walk attendees through the key decisions that have taken place as the company consciously expanded its retail footprint from its position as a staple of the natural and specialty channel into mainstream grocery accounts.

Fresh off a year of retail growth, moringa company Kuli Kuli has closed a $1 million round of funding. Investors in the round include noted tech luminaries Brad Feld of the Foundry Group and venture capitalist Derek Proudian, as well as food entrepreneur Mary Walder.

Reading Steve Hughes’ biography is like walking down the aisle of a grocery store — you’ll see plenty of familiar brands along the way, from Healthy Choice, to Smart Balance and Evol, to any number of the products he oversaw as CEO of Celestial Seasonings. In this interview with Project NOSH, Hughes discusses his newest venture, Sunrise Strategic partners.

Over the past year, the meat-based snacking category has continued to grow with new innovations, new brands and lots of investments. While the meat may be, the category itself is far from dried up. In fact, it’s still smoking.

Proceeds from the round, which was raised on equity crowdfunding platform CircleUp, will go toward new sales and marketing initiatives designed to expand placement and awareness of Tio Gazpacho’s high pressure processed, ready-to-drink soups.

The Wine RayZyn Company announced that they’ve raised over $1 million to help develop the next superfood snack product. The company has a patented process that dehydrates grapes and caramelizes the nutrient rich wine seed in the grape’s own sugar.

While the news may be dominated with stories of bone broth, kale chips and avocado oil, after visiting Natural Products Expo West 2016, it seems that consumers are still saving room for dessert. Although that takes the form of more healthy options for some products, there are also still many indulgent products hitting retailer shelves this year.

Bonafide Provisions, a newly-renamed maker of frozen chicken and beef bone broths, has become a portfolio company of Boulder Investment Group Reprise (BIGR), an investment firm founded by the former managers of Boulder Brands’ venture capital group, the company announced this week.