In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
- Links to Relevant Content and Events
Food Venture Financing Trends
- Heura, a Spanish plant-based meat foodtech startup, announced that it raised 40 million Euros in its Series B financing.
- ProducePay, an agtech startup, announced that it raised $38 million in its Series D round.
- Aquaconnect, an Indian aquaculture platform startup, announced that it raised $4 million in its pre-Series B round, which was led by S2G Ventures.
- Whole Earth Brands, the producer of Equal and Wholesome Sweetners, announced that it plans to go private in a deal to sell the business to an affiliate of Sababa for $4.875 per share.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund
This week's featured corporate venture and private equity fund is Rutger's Food Innovation Center.
- The Food Innovation Center at Rutgers University is a unique food business incubator and accelerator that is a unit of the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES). The Center supports established early stage entrepreneurs and existing food companies from concept to commercialization.
- Rutger's Food Innovation Center provides business, marketing, food safety, product design and scale up expertise within FDA and USDA certified facilities to help companies successfully build and grow their business.
- Some of its clients include the following:
- Impossible Foods
- Simply Good Jars
- Angel Planet
- Jalma Farms
- Sundial Foods
Links to Relevant Content and Events
ARTICLES
- Functional Energy Drink Brand Odyssey Secures $6 Million Investment
- MSD to Buy Elanco's Aquaculture Assets For $1.3 Billion
- Elo Life Systems Raises $20.5 Million
- Generation Food Rural Partners to acquire DisSolves
- US Plant-Based Shrimp Firm New Wave Foods Shuts Down Amidst Financial Woes
- Trek One Acquires Alter Eco Foods
- First Bite Emerges From Stealth to Help Food Manufacturers Navigate 'Antiquated' Foodservice Channel
UPCOMING EVENTS
Naturally North Bay
Building a Dynamic Workforce: Uniting Remote, Hybrid, and Onsite
Tuesday, February 20 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. PT
Join Naturally North Bay for apanel discussion on "Building a Dynamic Workforce: Uniting Remote, Hybrid, and Onsite Teams" to discover best practices for creating a cohesive work environment that eliminates preferential treatment perceptions, fosters strong relationships across diverse work groups, and measures engagement effectively. The guest panelists, with extensive experience in managing these unique work arrangements, will share their insights, real-world examples, and practical strategies to help you navigate the challenges and opportunities presented by remote-only, hybrid, and onsite-only employees
Speakers:
- Dr. Suzi Potts, Founder & Owner of SP Consulting
- Michael Weinberger, Senior Director of Human Resources at Challenge Dairy
- Mickele Carpenter, HR Director of Traditional Medicinals
- Geraldine Flatt, SPHR, VP, People and Business Operations at Sonoma Creamery
Naturally Austin
Amplifier Facility Tour
Tuesday, February 20 | 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. CT
Location: Amplifier Fulfillment, Burleson Road 8015, Suite 100, Austin, TX
Join Naturally Austin for a visit to Amplifier in East Austin to tour their fulfillment center and learn more about their distribution work and how it benefits your company.
Naturally Boulder
Networking Collision Series at Oskar Blues
Wednesday, February 21 | 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. MT
Location: Oskar Blues Home Made Liquids & Solids, Hover Street 1555, Longmont, CO
Welcome to the latest installment of Naturally Boulder's Collision Series of Networking Events – a low-key, relaxed series of no-registration-required connection opportunities where you'll run into old friends and connect with new contacts. Want a chance to meet more folks in the natural and organic products industry? Wear green if you can to help spot each other. This is a free event; pre-registration is available but not required. Refreshments will available to purchase at the venue on your own tab. Keep an eye out for Naturally Boulder's board hosts, Paloma and Jenna!
Naturally Minnesota
Cracking the Retail Code
Friday, February 23 | 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. CT
This workshop is right for you:
- Your business is profitable (between $75,000 and $500,000 in sales, some retail) and you want to take its performance to the next level.
- You have a strong feeling that retail is the right path for your brand, or you want a channel to pursue.
Walk away with:
- A FREE One-on-One session with Kate LaBrosse Consulting
- A fresh pricing strategy
- Tools and templates:
- Promo playbook
- Retail incentives
- Spec sheet
- Order form
- Sell sheet
- Master presentation deck
- Account outreach, email checklist and sequence