In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
- Links to Relevant Content and Events
Food Venture Financing Trends
- Large CPG companies continue to drive food and beverage M&A activity. Hormel Foods recently announced that it completed the acquisition of Kraft Heinz’s Planters snack portfolio for $3.35 billion.
- PepsiCo announced a $200 million investment in its Frito-Lay Rosenberg, Texas site, which will include the creation of two manufacturing lines and expansion of its warehouse capacity.
- Aura Bora, a craft sparkling water emerging brand, announced that it raised $2 million in its seed round to support its expansion into stores, such as 7-Eleven, Sprouts, Whole Foods and Fresh Thyme, and creations of its online subscription service.
- Simulate, a parent company of plant-based chicken products, completed its $50 million Series B funding led by Reddit founder, Alexi Ohanian’s Seven Seven Six VC firm.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
This week's featured corporate venture and private equity fund is CircleUp Growth Partners.
- CircleUp Growth Partners is an early stage consumer fund based in San Francisco, California. It has invested in companies across a variety of categories, from food and beverage to beauty, pet, household products, restaurants, and apparel. CircleUp has a proprietary machine learning platform—Helio—which identifies, classifies, and evaluates early-stage consumer and retail companies to shine a light on breakout brands.
- Portfolio companies include:
- 4505 Meats
- Buffy
- Cali'Flour Foods
- Pop&Bottle
- CircleUp looks for innovative brands that are creating new categories or disrupting existing categories, and entrepreneurs with a strong vision and unwavering passion for their product.
Links to Relevant Content and Events
ARTICLES
- Why OLIPOP Believes Soda Can Change the World's Digestive Health
- Microwave Popcorn Startup Opopop Raises $5 Million Ahead of Product Launch
- Aura Bora Raises $2 Million in Seed Funding
- Grocery E-Commerce Firm ShopHero Acquired by Dot Foods
- E-Grocer Hungryroot Raises $40 Million to Fuel Personalized Platform
- SIMULATE, Maker of NUGGS Plant-Based Chicken, Raises $50 Million
- TerraClear Raises $25 Million to Help Farmers Get Rocks Out of Their Fields
- Pensa Systems Raises $11 Million to Expand AI and Drone Retail Shelf Monitoring
- Hormel Finalizes Deal for Planters
- Frito-Lay to Create 160 Jobs With Rosenberg, Texas, Plant Expansion
- 'Delightful Yet Peculiar': $2 Million Seed Funding Is Positive Affirmation for Aura Bora's Unique Spot in Sparkling Water Set
EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Project W – Emerging Food Brands Lab
June 10 – July 29, 2021
DWT is excited to announce that Project W is bringing its signature programming to female founders in the food and beverage sector through our first Emerging Food Brands Lab. Developed in collaboration with DWT's Food + Beverage practice, this multi-week program has been crafted to help female founders take their brand to the next level through workshops dedicated to scaling production, optimizing distribution networks, and raising capital.
CIA's Menus of Change Leadership Summit
June 22 - 24, 2021
Jeffrey Sachs, PhD, professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, will be joining the Menus of Change® Leadership Summit: Virtual Edition, June 22–24, to provide his insights on how building sustainability into your business benefits your guests, the planet, and most importantly, your bottom line. Twice named one of Time Magazine's most influential world leaders, ranked by readers of The Economist as one of the top three most influential living economists, and recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize.
Barilla Seeks Participants for Accelerator Program
Barilla's venture unit Blu1877 and San Francisco-based incubator KitchenTown are seeking startups to take part in their Good Food Makers global accelerator program. The program will be focused around four challenges related to meal routines, the circular economy, nutrition guides, and food delivery.
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.