Investment

Dairy brand Good Culture has taken another step towards its goal of becoming a cultured foods platform, announcing today the closing of a $64 million funding round that will support retail and product expansion this year.

Snack brand Beanfields has been acquired by Vancouver-based Boosh Plant-Based Brands Inc.. The deal, which was announced last week, officially closed on Wednesday.

Grassland Dairy Products has acquired seasoned butter brand Medlee Foods, which will operate under a new division called Grassland Specialty Brands (GSB), the company announced on Monday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Meat snack maker 4505 was acquired by holding company Benestar Brands on Tuesday, a deal that comes as the brand looks to expand beyond its flagship pork rinds under a new leadership team. Moving forward, the company plans to expand beyond meat-based snacks.

Unovis Asset Management has closed a second fund valued at roughly $162 million as the venture capital firm plans to invest in companies that offer consumers ‘a menu’ of plant-based food options.

Having just secured $80 million in funding from venture firm Stride Consumer, meat snack brand Chomps is planning to use the capital to broaden its product assortment and make a move into convenience retail, said CEO and co-founder Peter Maldonado today.

Frozen novelty brand Dream Pops has raised $6 million as it seeks to move beyond its current portfolio and expand into the confection aisle. Ultimately CEO David Greenfeld wants to reinvent many of America’s “cult classics” for a new generation.

San Francisco-based office food service provider and snack delivery service garten today announced its acquisition of East Coast sister companies LeanBox, a provider of healthy fresh food kiosks, and Grind Coffee, an office provider of coffee kegs and beans. The deal gives West Coast-focused garten access to LeanBox’s East Coast accounts.

Vega could be in for some retooling. Last week private equity fund WM Partners acquired the performance nutrition brand from previous owner Danone. The deal is part of the firm’s strategy to acquire synergistic brands and then “build operational excellence” in order to better position them for sale to a strategic buyer.

Protein remains a major force of attraction for consumers, as is evidenced today by the sale of protein enhanced baking mix and snack brand Kodiak Cakes to private equity firm L Catterton.