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Food Venture Financing News - Weekly Issue No. 33

11.03.20
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In This Issue:

Main Street Tries Again for Relevancy

  • In light of Congressional failure to provide further PPP loans, the Fed late last week amended the (thus far underwhelming) Main Street Lending Program to make the program more attractive to small businesses.
  • The minimum loan amount was dropped from $250,000 to $100,000.
  • PPP loans of up to $2 million may be excluded for purposes of determining maximum loan size.
  • In addition, for loans under $250,000, the Fed will waive its 1% fee and allow banks to double their fee to 2% to encourage banks to make these smaller loans.
  • As consumers try to embrace healthier pandemic lifestyles, some large food manufacturing companies are rebranding their portfolios. Nestlé recently announced is acquisition of Freshly, signaling the company's expansion into the healthy meal prep market.
  • Natural food and foodtech companies continue to attract new capital as private investors cautiously resume private financings. Hershey recently announced a minority stake investment in Quinn, a natural foods snack maker.
  • Alternative protein companies continue to raise venture financings.
  • Amazon announced an increase in sales by 37% for Q3 2020 as compared to the same time last year, and expects an increase in sales by 28-38% for Q4 2020.

Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds

Our featured CPG corporate venture investment fund this week is Acre Venture Partners.

  • Founded in 2016, Acre Venture Partners is a venture capital fund based in Santa Monica, California.
  • Acre Venture Partners invests in startup food companies and companies creating systemic change in the food system to address the problems of human and environmental health.
  • It has made approximately 17 investments, and was the lead investor for ten of them.
  • Investments include:
    • Farmers Business Network
    • Mori
    • Back to the Roots
    • Evolve BioSystems
    • Spoiler Alert
  • In January 2020, Acre Venture Partners had its first close on its second fund, a multi-LP fund targeting around $125 million, the same size as its Fund I, which was a single LP fund backed by Campbell's Soup.

ARTICLES

EVENTS

Naturally Bay Area QUICK BITES Lunchtime Series

Insights for Digital Growth in the New Normal

Wednesday, November 18, 2020, 12:00 - 1:00 pm P.T.

  • Jessica Malach: VP Partnerships & Insights at Social Nature
  • Christie Lee: Founder of Nourishing Food Marketing
  • Jennifer Berliner: Moderator, Naturally Bay Area & Head of Go To Market, Planet FWD

Register here

Please check out DWT's newly re-launched Startup Law Blog

At DWT, we are proud to have one of the largest Food & Beverage legal practices in the country, with over 40 attorneys representing food innovators, entrepreneurs, and investors at every level of the food chain, from Farm to Label.

Please contact our Food and Beverage team if we can assist you in any way in these unprecedented times.

The facts, laws, and regulations regarding COVID-19 are developing rapidly. Since the date of publication, there may be new or additional information not referenced in this advisory. Please consult with your legal counsel for guidance.

DWT will continue to provide up-to-date insights and virtual events regarding COVID-19 concerns. Our most recent insights, as well as information about recorded and upcoming virtual events, are available at www.dwt.com/COVID-19.

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