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Food Venture Financing News - Weekly Issue No. 169

11.22.23
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In This Issue:

  • Skyy Partners, a private equity firm co-founded by Kim Kardashian, announced an investment in Truff, a truffle-infused condiment brand, for a minority stake in the company.
  • Brown-Forman announced that it plans to acquire The Duckhorn Portfolio’s chardonnay producer Sonoma-Curter for $400 million in cash and equity.
  • Mars Snacking, owner of Snickers, announced that it plans to acquire Hotel Chocolat, a UK-based chocolate producer, for $665 million.

 

CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund

This week's featured corporate venture and private equity fund is 1st Course Capital. 

  • 1st Course Capital ("1CC") is an early stage venture capital firm that invests in innovative business models and technologies that change "how we grow, produce, and distribute food."
  • The portfolio companies include the following:
    • BlueCart – Powering B2B e-commerce solutions for the foodservice industry
    • Bobbie - Infant formula produced using clean and transparent ingredients
    • Ellement – Personalized prenatal supplements and customized support
    • AgriDigital - Commodity trading platform remaking the supply chain for improved traceability and margins for farmers
    • Dispatch Goods - Reverse logistics company offering re-usable packaging for restaurant delivery and takeout
    • Maev - Building the future of dog care

 

ARTICLES

UPCOMING EVENTS

Naturally Chicago
Cocktails and Conversations: On the future of beverages

Tuesday, November 28 | 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. CT
Location:  Koval Distillery and Tasting Room, 4241 N Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL

This fun event at Koval's beautiful tasting room will feature a discussion about the future of beverages featuring Dr. Sonat Hart — Co-founder and Co-owner of Koval with her husband Robert Birnecker — and Naturally Chicago Board member Kim Holstein, President and Co-Founder (with husband Scott) of Twisted Alchemy cold-pressed juice mixers.

Register

Naturally New York
Metrics & Business Milestones for Venture Investment Today presented by New Fare Partners

Wednesday, November 29 | 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. ET

In today's difficult fundraising environment, what are VC investors looking to see from early-stage Food CPG companies that build confidence? Join Naturally New York to explore what is considered best-in-class across key benchmarks like Gross Margin, Burn-Rate, Velocities, Community Engagement, Customer Churn and details on how those metrics come together to tell a story about a company's operational efficiency, product market fit, brand strength - and a team's ability to execute.

The session will also get at:

  • The path and potential a VC Investor needs to see to build conviction in an early-stage CPG company (and why).
  • Basics of how core metrics and business fundamentals are interpreted by investors
  • Deep dive into marketing and how early brand development signals potential to investors

Speaker:

  • Hallie Bonnar, Co-Founder & Partner of New Fare Partners

Register

Naturally Austin
Fireside Series - Understanding Term Sheets and LOI's with Ryan Gravelle

Thursday, November 30 | 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. CT
Location:  Bank of America, 607 West 3rd Street Suite 2900, Austin, TX

Are you wondering what you are agreeing to when investors send you term sheets? Do you ever have questions about how much of your company you are selling to investors? Do you understand the difference between preferred and common stock and what that means in an exit? Join Naturally Austin on November 30 to get those answers.

Register

Naturally Bay Area
Holiday Happy Hour + Gift Fair

Wednesday, December 6 | 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. PT
Location:  Dokkaebier, 420 3rd Street, Oakland, CA

Naturally Bay Area member company, Dokkaebier, will be hosting the Naturally Bay Area community at their taproom near Jack London Square in Oakland.

  • Mingle with the Naturally Bay Area community
  • Enjoy Dokkaebier's unique Asian-inspired craft beers (complimentary drink tickets will be provided for members who register ahead!)
  • Shop the holiday fair featuring six local makers
  • Bring a friend and introduce them to the vibrant Naturally Bay Area community (this event is open to the public)

Register

Naturally Bay Area
Quick Bites: Optimize Your Promotions Plan in 2024

Thursday, December 7 | 12:00 – 12:45 p.m. PT

2024 is just around the corner – is your promotions plan ready? During this joint Naturally Bay Area and Naturally North Bay webinar, hear from SPINS about how to be intentional when it comes to developing promotions. You can expect to learn:

  • How to be cash efficient and grab market share with your promotions plan.
  • Which metrics you should be monitoring on a monthly basis.
  • Best practices for refining your promotional calendar.

Speakers:

  • Benji Fitts, Director of Client Insights at SPINS
  • Ally Johnson, Senior Analyst at SPINS, LLC

Register

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