With higher interest rates and investors being more cautious on where they put their money, many plant-based food and beverage start-ups are going back to business basics of creating a sustainable business model while continuing to find new ways to innovate...
As food and beverage companies look to allocate capital in the coming year, many food and beverage manufacturers are taking a moment to reflect on how best to move forward with alternative meat production while investing heavily in ESG-related infrastructure...
As news broke last week that Silicon Valley Bank has collapsed due to a bank run, many attendees at Natural Products Expo West also had their own economic concerns – namely, how to find capital for their brands and survive the current moment.
Since Project Potluck was founded in 2020 to support people of color in the CPG industry, the landscape and conversation around diversity and inclusion has changed dramatically, but according to the grassroots group turned non-profit a lot remains to...
Plant-powered culinary brand Wicked Kitchen has raised $20m in bridge funding from backers including actor and vegan activist Woody Harrelson, Ahimsa VC, and NRPT (Thailand's leading food producer and innovator).
A Japanese-style sauce brand with a history of personal connection with customers has parlayed that authenticity into a $13m cash infusion in a funding round led by a prominent consumer brands investment firm.
Despite the difficult economic reset underway in the capital markets and lingering supply chain challenges, rising inflation and the growing threat of a recession, investors are still interested in the food and beverage space, according to one investment...
After two years of focusing internally to navigate pandemic-related supply chain, labor and other challenges, Keurig Dr Pepper will begin to look outward once again for inorganic opportunities, including mergers & acquisitions, partnerships and minority...
Comet Bio – a startup developing prebiotics, functional fibers and sweeteners from upcycled ingredients – has announced an investment with RE Energy to build a dedicated manufacturing facility in Denmark to supply Comet Bio's Arrabina prebiotic fiber.
For the co-founders of the better-for-you Asian American food startup immi, the most exciting part of closing their seed fundraise wasn’t the $3.8m that will help them relaunch an improved version of their low-carb, high-protein, plant-based instant ramen...
PepsiCo is investing $200m in its Frito-Lay plant in Rosenberg, Texas to add two manufacturing lines and increase capacity of the warehouse to ensure future growth.
CPG brands that invest in restoring healthy farmland can earn more than the goodwill of consumers who increasingly care about sustainability – they also could cash-in on the surge of ESG-earmarked funding and secure high-value assets that will support...
A year after the initial shock of the coronavirus pandemic caused many to hit the brakes on new deals, mergers and acquisitions in the food and beverage space not only have rebounded but exceeded expectations – making 2020 a record year for consumer deals...
As the ongoing pandemic accelerates consumer interest in the role of nutrition in wellness and underscores the supply chain’s fragility, the investors at Manna Tree Partners are looking for at least three growth stage companies that are revolutionizing...
2020 was a breakout year for 'agrifoodtech' companies as the sector attracted over $26.1bn worldwide in investment, a 34.5% increase from 2019, according to global venture capital firm AgFunder's 2021 investment report.
Pandemic-fueled consumer demand for food that is healthier, more sustainable, ethically produced and easier to access has fueled a “burst of investment” in food-tech in 2020 that Finistere Ventures predicts will have a lasting impact on the industry long...
While the pandemic may have slowed the flow of venture capital funding in some segments of the packaged food and beverage industry earlier this year, analysis from Finistere Ventures shows it threw open the tap for the food- and ag-tech sectors, which...
Companies hoping to break into the children’s food and beverage category may have a better shot at success by going direct-to-consumer with solutions that extend beyond kids to target the whole family than they do at breaking into and out on grocery retail...
The idea of “doing good” as a company is quickly evolving from “nice to have” to “must have” for fundraising food and beverage businesses as investors and industry strategics increasingly integrate and place more weight on environmental, social and governance...
Even though seafood alternatives account for only a small fraction of the current total plant-based protein market, it is primed for fast-paced growth and holds the most promise for capturing market share from its animal-based conventional counterpart,...
Minnesota-based Revol Greens has closed a $68m funding round led by Equilibrium Capital -- bringing the company's total financing to $215m -- to launch a third lettuce greenhouse facility in Texas, which will bring its total annual output to 33 million...
Spiceology, Inc., a privately held, direct-to-consumer spice company, has closed a $4.7m round of financing led by retail and grocery executive Ty Bennett, with participation by the Cowles Company, Kickstart Funds III & IV, and angel investors to...
'The spike in searches for immunity, stress relief, and sleep are off the charts'
Bulletproof has closed a $13m capital raise led by new investors, Beliv and Rocana Ventures, and existing investors, CAVU Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures, to fuel the brand's omnichannel vision of "being present where the consumer finds...
Honey Mama's, a brand of truffle-like chocolate wellness bars made with whole foods merchandized in the burgeoning refrigerated bar set, has closed a $4.5m Series A round led by Amberstone Ventures, to fast track the brand to mainstream consumer...
Upcycled ingredients startup Renewal Mill has launched a crowdfunding campaign, which will help fund the commercialization of the company’s second ingredient, oat okara, made from oat pulp leftover when oatmilk is made.
A firm believer that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take, the founder of Holmes Made Foods not only seized every chance he was offered to build his all-natural applesauce company, but he also unabashedly created his own opportunities through persistence...
Icelandic brand Good Good, which makes no-sugar-added jams, syrups, and a chocolate hazelnut spread sweetened with stevia and erthyritol, has closed a $3m Series A round of investment led by Icepharma, AtonJL and Svanhildur Nanna Vigfusdottir along with...
The economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus has pushed many investors into a protective mode that precludes new deals, but raising capital during the pandemic still is possible – it just requires entrepreneurs to more clearly define their value...
As the pandemic unfolds, many investors are hitting pause on cash injections into early-stage brands. But for VC funds BFG Partners and BIGR Ventures, the crisis has made investment decisions more clear in terms of what separates an 'OK' brand...
Strong food & beverage brands with world class management teams will continue to attract funding, but valuations are “falling by the minute,” and the days of throwing money at emerging brands and seeing what sticks are over, at least for now, says...
Drawn to the rapid sales growth and widespread consumer interest in plant-based alternatives to animal products, a team of investors and industry experts has launched the Eat Beyond Global Investment Fund to connect retail investors with potentially fast-growing...
Uncomfortable with the idea that agriculture is a necessary evil with the demand for food outweighing the negative environmental impact of traditional farming and ranching, the co-founder and CEO of Bowery is expanding his revolutionary approach to food...
Nut butter brand Wild Friends Foods and organic instant tea company Cusa Tea have both received undisclosed cash injections from New York-based investor S CAP, which the brands will put towards accelerating distribution and product development.
Cashew cheese brand Parmela Creamery has raised $1.25m in a seed financing round led by 25Madison to support the brand's ongoing innovation in the plant-based dairy category.
Anheuser-Busch InBev may be on a mission to be the “best beer company bringing people together for a better world,” but its innovation, incubation and investment arm, ZX Ventures, wants more: It wants to “make products, services and technologies that...
Routine headlines about multi-million – or billion – dollar venture capital investments into food and beverage startups may give the impression that VC funding is the best way to scale a business, but according to one insider the model is far from perfect...
When pitching a company or a product to investors, startups should brace to hear ‘no’ – a lot – but they can increase their chances of hearing yes by learning everything they can about the investment community at large and individual investors before...
After creating a booming online business, Cali'flour Foods is poised for its next phase of retail growth with an investment from Boulder-based brand accelerator, Sunrise Strategic Partners, and Trilantic North America.
RightRice, the brainchild of Popchips co-founder Keith Belling, has closed a $5.5m minority investment led by Strand Equity and a roster of celebrity investors and industry veterans, including Impossible Foods, COO David Lee, and celebrities Karlie Kloss,...
Better-for-you frozen food maker Luvo is ready to graduate from startup to an emerging company as it approaches a break-even cash flow and pursues the promise of profitability in the New Year thanks in part to one last infusion of capital from Dugout...
Just Add Cooking (JAC), a meal kit company founded in Boston in 2013, is looking for an extra boost of funding launching a WeFunder campaign with a $300,000 fundraising goal.
Kraft Heinz has committed $100m to launch the venture capital fund Evolv Ventures that will be focused on investing in emerging technologies in the food industry.
In a letter to Nestlé, the world’s largest food company by revenue, Third Point, a New York-based asset manager with $18bn in capital ($3bn in Nestlé), called out the food and beverage giant for falling short on its long-term, sustainable growth mission.
One the world’s largest meatpackers, BRF, has cut its investment spend as its home country, Brazil, slowly recovers from a two-year economic recession.
CircleUp has announced CircleUp Growth Partners, a new $125m venture fund targeting early-stage consumer brands that utilizes a machine learning platform called Helio claimed to enable more data-driven investment decisions.
After 10 successful years focused on making unique wafer-thin savory and sweet crackers, snack company 34 Degrees is ready to try something new and thanks to a $3.4 million investment from its long-time supply chain manager Fresca Foods it has the means...
