In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
- Links to Relevant Content and Events
Food Venture Financing Trends
- Lever VC announced that it completed a first close of $50 million for a new fund dedicated to early stage agrifoodtech startups.
- Avisomo, an automated vertical farming startup, raised 5 million Euros in recent funding.
- Agurotech, an agritech startup that focuses on data efficient solutions, raised 2.25 million Euros in capital.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund
This week's featured corporate venture and private equity fund is AF Ventures.
- AF Ventures (formerly AccelFoods, founded in 2013) manages over 30 portfolio brands across the consumer landscape of food & beverage, health & wellness, beauty, personal care, and pet. AF Ventures offers its portfolio a proprietary suite of resources to achieve large-scale impact, improving the health of future generations.
- Portfolio companies include:
- Cirkul
- Jinx
- Source
- Yumi
- AF Ventures invests in visionary founders building authentic, next-generation consumer brands driving omnichannel innovation.
Links to Relevant Content and Events
ARTICLES
- Agtech Unicorn Inari Raises $144 Million for Seed Tech as Company Nears Commercialization
- Ferrero Buys Protein Snack Company Power Crunch
- JBS Acquires 50% of Mantiqueira, Enters Egg Category
- Specialty Egg Company Acquires Pasture Brands Holdings
- General Mills Finalizes Sale of Canadian Yogurt Business
- InnerPlant Takes 'Meaningful Step' in Regulatory Journey
- Bonsai Robotics Secures $15 Million in Series A Funding to Advance Its Physical AI Solutions for Agriculture Applications
- Liberation Labs Closes $50.5 Million Convertible Note
- Lever VC Secures $50 Million for Early-Stage Agrifoodtech Innovation
UPCOMING EVENTS
Every Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday from 11:00 am - 12:15 pm PT
A series of in-depth conversations exploring the financing and mindset journeys of CPG companies, featuring CPG founders and industry experts. This event is FREE for all who register, allowing access to both the live events and the recordings through to May 31, 2025.
Naturally New England
Members Exclusive Online Workshop: Understanding Cap Tables & Dilution
Monday, February 10 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
If you think cap tables are just for your legal team to figure out, think again. Join Jeremy Halpern, Co-Chair of Nutter's Emerging Companies Group and its Food and Beverage Group, to learn how the decisions you make about early-stage equity investment can have long-term consequences for your ownership, control, and ability to raise future rounds. This workshop breaks it all down so you're not left in the dark.
Here's what you'll learn in this free training:
- How to calculate fully diluted pre-money equity capitalization
- The impact of pre-money valuation, incentive equity pools, and anti-dilution rights on your bottom line
- How participating preferred structures, dividends, SAFEs, and convertible notes affect your cap table
- Practical tips for using excel to build a clear, transparent model for your cap table
Take the guesswork out of fundraising decisions. With these tools and insights, you'll be equipped to approach early-stage investments with confidence, ensuring the best outcomes for you and your stakeholders.
Naturally Colorado
Women in CPG: a Galentine's Celebration
Tuesday, February 11 | 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. MT
Location: Park Hill Innovation Hub, 4800 Dahlia St., Denver, CO
Whether you're a founder, brand leader, service provider, or curious about the CPG industry, this event is designed to foster meaningful relationships, inspire growth within our industry, and empower women in the natural and organic industry.
Inspired by Parks & Rec's Leslie Knope and her iconic Galentine's Day tradition, this Naturally Colorado gathering will focus on the power of building success together with our local Women in CPG community. Naturally Colorado Board Chair, Carlotta Mast, will share her insights on the power (and joy!) of kinship and reciprocity and guide us through an engaging exercise where participants can share a current need, an offer to contribute, or a way they can support one another.
Naturally Minnesota
2025 Capital Access Workshop
Wednesday, February 12 | 9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. CT
Location: SHAKE at the Coliseum, 2708 East Lake Street, Suite 200A, Minneapolis, MN
Are you an entrepreneur looking to explore more options for funding your business? Dive into this capital access education workshop that will cover the wide array of funding options that are appropriate for each stage of a company, from pre-revenue to over $1 Million. You'll have the chance to learn from industry experts, connect with local financing leaders, and take the next step to growing your natural product, tech, or agriculture-based business.
Naturally New York
Social Media For The Now: Q1 2025
Wednesday, February 19 | 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. ET
Join Sircle Media for an up to date POV on social media and how to best leverage social platforms in the current environment. You can expect a short presentation followed by an in-depth Q&A session, so come prepared with all of your burning questions about social media for brands.
Speakers:
- Adam Brown, Founder & President, Sircle Media
- Molly O’Donnell, Senior Social Strategist, Sircle Media
Naturally Seattle
Volunteer with Naturally Seattle at Food Lifeline
Wednesday, February 19 | 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. PT
Location: 815 S 96th Street, Seattle, WA
Join the Naturally Seattle community for a meaningful volunteer session at Food Lifeline! We'll be sorting and repacking nutritious food at the Food Lifeline warehouse to help feed thousands of people facing hunger across Western Washington. Through the dedication of volunteers like you, Food Lifeline provides essential meals to our neighbors in need every day. Come make a significant impact in just two hours - it's a fun and rewarding way to give back to our community!
Naturally Colorado
Streamlining Success: Why do some brands have all the fun?
Thursday, February 20 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. MT
This presentation is about how brands that offer elevated nutrition/ functional benefits can tap into fundamental human emotion (including humor) to better connect with consumers. Many of these brands currently lean into the functional attributes they offer and may be missing an opportunity for deeper affiliation with consumers by tapping into fundamental human emotions including release, humor, rebellion, belonging, joy, etc. Cindy Judge, President & CEO of SRG, and Andy Nathan, Founder & CEO of Fortnight Collective, will share examples of brands that do this well and those who don't. We'll then open it up into a panel discussion including Eric Friedman, Manager Director & Partner at SRG and Sam Emrich, Senior Director, Strategy & Insights at Fortnight Collective, all of whom will discuss this topic and how YOU can start to build FUN into your branding.
Don't miss this opportunity to learn alongside other CPG founders, marketers and agencies so you can evaluate your own branding and make improvements to better connect with consumers in 2025.
Naturally San Diego
Guided Tour: Jimbo's
Friday, February 21 | 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PT
Location: Jimbo's Carmel Valley, 12841 El Camino Real Suite 100, San Diego, CA
Join Naturally San Diego for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of Jimbo's, guided by none other than Jimbo's COO, Justin Jackson, and lead grocery buyer, Jason Murrell. Known for their unwavering commitment to organic and high-quality products, Jimbo's has been a cornerstone of the local natural food community.
This interactive tour will dive deep into Jimbo's approach to sourcing, merchandising, and maintaining their exceptional standards. You'll gain insider insights into what it takes to bring the best natural and organic products to customers, from evaluating new brands to building strong relationships with local producers.
This event is designed for emerging brands, and capacity is limited to just 20 attendees. If you are not an emerging brand, please wait to purchase a ticket until closer to the event, once it’s confirmed whether any spots remain available. Thank you for your understanding!
Naturally New England
The Substation Mixer & Showcase
Saturday, February 22 | 4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
Location: The Substation, 2448 Washington St, Roslindale, MA
Join Naturally New England at The Substation for an exclusive evening of networking and discovery! This mixer and showcase is designed for Naturally New England members to connect, share ideas, and explore new opportunities.
What to Expect:
- Brand Showcase: Member brands will have the opportunity to showcase their products and highlight what makes them unique.
- Substation Collaboration: The Substation team is seeking CPG products to feature in bar offerings. They'll be sampling products and looking for brands to onboard.
- Community Networking: Meet and mingle with fellow members in a dynamic, collaborative space.