Investment
Dive into the latest stories, interviews, and discussions relating to investment, funding, and mergers and acquisitions throughout the natural food industry. Explore what the financial future looks like for natural food entrepreneurs in terms of capital availability, deal terms, lending, and the strategic marketplace in order to help shape your planning strategy for the short and medium term.
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Featured Investment Content
Whole Foods Evolves As Natural Merges Into Mass
Amazon is planning to absorb all 100,000 Whole Foods employees, including frontline staff, into its core business structure, per a report this week from Business Insider.
BranchOut Food Gets $2.5M To Expand Production
BranchOut Food received $2.5 million in funding through a common stock sale as it moves to expand its production facility.
Smash Foods Closes Seven-Figure Round To Fuel Further Growth
Smash Foods has closed a seven-figure funding round to expand availability of its superfood spreads and snacks, according to co-founder and chief operating officer Steve Ford. The round was led by Eclair Partners with participation from Label Capital and The Family Fund, alongside a strategic supply chain partner.
Additional Content
16 Handles’ Neil Hershman Acquires DŌ, Charts National Growth
New York City-based edible and bakeable cookie dough brand DŌ announced yesterday that it has been acquired by Neil Hershman, the owner and CEO of self-serve frozen yogurt franchise 16 Handles.
Lotus Bakeries Adds IQBAR To Venture Portfolio
Belgium-based Lotus Bakeries announced it has taken a minority stake in functional food brand IQBAR leading the bar maker’s Series B funding round through its venture arm, Fast Forward 2032.
Bohana Acquired by Vimal Kansara of Boon Distribution
Boston-based air-popped water lily seed snack maker Bohana has been acquired by Ore City, Texas-based Boon Distribution, according to an email the brand sent to NOSH last week. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Mondelēz Backs Pretzel Co Eastern Standard Provisions
Eastern Standard Provisions has completed a funding round with participation from Mondelēz International’s venture arm SnackFutures.
Freshly Ending Direct Delivery As Meal Co Pivots To Retail
Nestlé-owned ready-made meal delivery platform Freshly appears to be shutting down its direct-to-consumer business, according to media reports and a LinkedIn post from the company’s co-founder.
Maple Leaf Restructures Alt-Protein Business, Partners With Better Meat
Under the leadership of Adam Grogan, meat juggernaut Maple Leaf Farms is broadening how it looks at the alt-protein category by partnering with The Better Meat Co. and exploring new food-tech offerings.
2022 Recap: Alt-Proteins See Innovation Surge, Beyond Meat & Impossible Drama
Regardless of what it’s called – plant-based, alternative, animal-free, fake meat – 2022 saw plenty of money and movement in the category of non-animal-derived protein. Check out the timeline for highlights from the emerging and tumultuous industry.
Ample Hills Runs into Financial Roadblocks, Shutters Operations
Ice cream maker Ample Hills is temporarily closing in a last-ditch attempt to secure critical financing to continue operations, the company stated in a letter posted to its website on Monday.
Good Karma Names Mike Murray as CEO, Funding Round to Close in ‘Near Future’
Good Karma Foods has named Mike Murray as its new CEO as the plant-based dairy alternative producer prepares to close a new financing round led by Valor Siren Ventures (VSV) and Loft Growth Partners. Murray arrives at the Boulder, Colorado-based brand from protein solutions company Teton Waters Ranch where he had served as CEO since… Read more »
Cometeer: Layoffs Hits Across Departments at Flash-Frozen Coffee Brand
Cometeer, the Massachusetts-based maker of flash-frozen coffee pods, laid off a number of employees across departments last week in a move sources described as an attempt to cut costs. The innovation-focused startup, founded in 2015 by CEO Matt Roberts and CTO Douglas Hoon, had grown to over 100 employees this year, following a $35 million… Read more »