In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
- Links to Relevant Content and Events
Food Venture Financing Trends
- Formo, a fermentation startup, announced that it raised $61 million in its Series B round.
- Keurig Dr Pepper announced that it has signed a distribution deal to sell Black Rifle Coffee's new ready-to-drink energy drinks.
- GALY, a plant cell culture startup, announced that it raised $33 million in its Series B round.
- Soil Capital, a Belgian regenerative agtech startup, announced that it raised 15 million Euros in its Series B round.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund
This week's featured corporate venture and private equity fund is BE8 Ventures.
- Be8 Venture is a Berlin-based growth stage venture capital fund focusing on food and beverage chain with a strong commitment towards innovation throughout the entire food and beverage value chain (i.e. Innovative Food, E-Grocery, Retail & Gastro Tech, Packaging & Waste).
- Be8 Venture is funded by the Oetker Group, the leading food producer in Europe.
- This VC fund invests in growing companies that shape tomorrow's food ecosystem located in Europe, Israel, and North America.
- Some of the portfolio companies include:
- New Culture
- Planted
- Glovo
- Bluu
- Melt & Marble
Links to Relevant Content and Events
ARTICLES
- FMC Ventures' Mark Brooks on the Next 10 Years in Agtech Investment: 'One of the Risks is That We Repeat the Same Mistakes'
- GALY Raises $33 Million From Bill Gates' BEV, H&M, and Inditex to Advance Climate-Resilient Cultivated Cotton
- Plant-Based Cheesemaker Climax Foods Secures Bridge Funding, Plans Restructuring
- Ceres Imaging Rebrands to CeresAI & Announces Series D
- T. Hasegawa Acquires Abelei Flavors
UPCOMING EVENTS
Davis Wright Tremaine Chicago
Chicago Office Reception with F+B Partners
Thursday, September 26 | 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: DWT Chicago, 300 N La Salle St, Suite 2200, Chicago, IL
We hope you can join us can an exclusive clients and friends reception and wine tasting at our newly renovated Chicago office.
This special evening will feature a selection of curated wines from our esteemed client partner, Crimson Wine Group family brands. We are honored to welcome Megan deZendegui, Regional Sales Manager, who will be pouring specialty wines from some of our favorite producers.
This event offers a wonderful opportunity to connect with our lawyers, clients, and friends in a relaxed and elegant setting. We would be thrilled to have you join us for this memorable occasion. Please reach out to Natalie Myers-Guzman with any questions or for further details.
We look forward to your presence at what promises to be an enjoyable and enriching evening.
Thank you to Crimson Wine for joining us as this event.
Naturally New England
Member Meet-Up at Boston Harbor Distillery
Monday, September 16 | 7:00 p.m. – 9:00p.m. ET
Location: Boston Harbor Distillery, 12R Ericsson Street, Boston, MA
NNE Members Meet-Up! Join Boston Harbor Distillery for a signature tasting event and cocktails!
Naturally New England
CPG Foundations Forum
Tuesday, September 17 | 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET
Location: Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP, 155 Seaport Boulevard, Boston, MA
Join Naturally New England for an immersive full-day forum designed for CPG entrepreneurs who are ready to delve into the nuts and bolts of business success. This event brings together industry experts to guide you through the critical phases of building a CPG brand, with in-depth sessions on everything from legal considerations and financial fundamentals to product commercialization and team building. Whether you're a first-time founder or looking to refine your strategies, this forum offers the essential tools and insights you need to ensure corporate cleanliness and sustainable growth. Network with peers, learn from seasoned professionals, and walk away with a comprehensive understanding of how to build a strong and compliant CPG business.
Naturally Boulder
Streamlining Success: Licensing Explained - The ABCs of Brand Licensing
Tuesday, September 17 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. MT
In this session, the world of brand licensing and its impact on businesses globally will be unraveled. You will gain comprehensive knowledge about brand licensing, the total commercial value of the industry, and its application within product and business categories. This module also explores how brand licensing can benefit businesses and delves into the key players involved in the licensing journey.
Speakers:
- Amanda Cioletti, Vice President of Content & Strategy, Global Licensing Group
- Jenna Fitch, Senior Director of Community & Conference Content
- Susan Bolsover, Managing Director & Founder, Lightbulb Licensing
Naturally Minnesota
Why I Closed My CPG Business - Lessons Learned
Wednesday, September 18 | 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. CT
Location: MidCity Kitchen, Raymond Avenue 693, Saint Paul
Starting, running, closing, or selling a business are big decisions, and can be affected by many different factors. Hear from 3 seasoned CPG brand owners on why they made the tough decision to close their business. They'll cover what convergence of factors led to their decision, what they wish they knew earlier on, and what they would do differently (and would they do it at all?!) if they could do it again.
Speakers:
- Jennifer Alexander, Food Business Development at Minnesota Department of Agriculture
- Angela Gustafson, Founder & Owner of Gustola Granola
- Julie Kucinski, pitchwell
- Jillian McGary, Founder of Mostly Made
Naturally Bay Area
Quick Bites: Sustainable Packaging As A Brand Asset
Wednesday, September 18 | 12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m. PT
Join Naturally Bay Area for an enlightening discussion on how your packaging choices tell your brand story, and how to position your brand for success. Experts in both brand building and sustainable packaging will share insights on the latest trends, innovations, and strategies to leverage more environmentally-friendly packaging as a competitive advantage. Learn how to align your brand with sustainability, meet retailer and consumer demands, and enhance your market position.
The panel will explore:
- What sustainable packaging means and how it shapes strategy.
- Key innovations that align with consumer and retailer demands.
- The evolving role of packaging in brand storytelling.
- Navigating trade-offs between cost, functionality, and sustainability.
- Communicating sustainability through packaging to retailers and consumers.
Speakers:
- Jen Berliner, Head of Sales & Marketing at Patagonia Provisions
- Kelsey Anderson, Account Manager at Pacific Southwest Container
- Joseph Button, Vice President, Sustainability & Strategic Impact at Straus Family Creamery
- Alexandra Crane, Senior Brand Director, Product of Grove Collaborative
- Paul Kagiwada, Creative Director of Trinity Brand Group
Naturally New York
Certification Workshop: Seed Oil Free Alliance
Friday, September 20 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET
Join the co-founders of the Seed Oil Free Alliance for a friendly, thought-provoking, and wide-ranging discussion on the past, present, and future of seed oils in the food supply. The ambitious presentation agenda includes:
- The surprising historical background of seed oils, including precursors to the grassroots "no seed oils" or "seed oil-free" movement
- Economic factors as driving force and the unprecedented consumption levels of seed oils in the US today
- Common fallacies, flaws, and falsehoods in current seed oil discourse found on all sides
- The illusion of certainty
- Why polarization between "mainstream" and "social media" perspectives on seed oils is unhelpful
- How the public conversation around seed oils is evolving and improving
- Why consumer choice and transparency will be the deciding factors in the future of seed oils and the seed oil-free movement
Speakers:
- Corey Nelson, Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer of Seed Oil Free Alliance
- Jonathan Rubin, Co-Founder & CEO of Seed Oil Free Alliance