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
With Kellogg’s 1894 Fund, A Switch from Corn Flakes to Capital
This week The Kellogg Company announced the launch of Eighteen94 (1894) Capital, an internal venture capital fund with roughly $100 million to invest in entrepreneurial brands. Managing Director Simon Burton told NOSH that the group is keeping initial investment criteria broad.
Taking Vegan Cheese from Tolerable to Terrific, Kite Hill Takes $18 Million Investment
Kite Hill, which produces plant-based alternatives to dairy products, closed an $18 million investment today led by General Mills’ venture arm, 301 Inc, and CAVU Ventures, a partnership between Clayton Christopher, Rohan Oza and Brett Thomas. The brand, which is only three years old, produces yogurt, cream cheese, aged cheeses and cheese-filled ravioli, all made with almond milk.
Hormel “Bought In To What Justin’s Is” Says Founder Gold
Demonstrating the ongoing interest in next-generation food brands, CPG giant Hormel today announced the acquisition of natural nut butter and snack maker Justin’s for $286 million. Justin Gold, Founder of Justin’s, told Project NOSH that the brand admires Hormel’s success and looks forward to learning from the larger company.
Exclusive: Field Trip Jerky Closes Financing Round
Field Trip Jerky which was founded in 2010 by three friends who pooled together $11,000, announced today that it has closed its second round of funding. The brand last year alone grew 250 percent and moved from being sold in 5,000 retailers to over 30,000.
May Kicks Off with Acquisitions and Investments
Yesterday may have been May Day, but rather than celebrating the start of Spring, several CPG groups were celebrating an influx of cash. No sooner had we hit our collective seats this morning than a few million dollars had flowed out of investors’ wallets and into entrepreneurial coffers.
Triscuit Uses Crowdfunding to Help Launch Brands
In an attempt to stay ahead of the trends, many large strategics, such as General Mills and Campbell, are building out venture capital arms to hunt down and invest in enterprising, adventurous food and beverage startups. In March, beloved cracker brand Triscuit decided to take a different approach, reaching into the crowdfunding world to create the Triscuit Maker Fund.
No Brakes on Food and Beverage Investment: Video
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.
Mission Driven Companies Focus of New Collaborative Fund & CircleUp Partnership
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.
Selling The Sales Team: Acosta Buys Ignite Sales & Marketing
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.
Boulder Brands Founder Steve Hughes’ New Dawn: Sunrise Strategic Partners
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.