Food Venture Financing News - Weekly Issue No. 126
In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
- Links to Relevant Content and Events
Food Venture Financing Trends
- Keurig Dr Pepper announced that it invested $50 million in Athletic Brewing, a nonalcoholic craft beer producer. The investment expands Keurig Dr Pepper's portfolio of emerging beverage brands.
- A recent report by PitchBook states that foodtech companies raised $2.7 billion in venture capital in Q3 of this year, representing a 76.9% decrease in investments year-over-year.
- Muncher, a startup that operates a chain of dark kitchens, announced that it raised $27 million in its Series B round. The company plans to use the funding to expand its dark kitchen operations in South America.
- Proper Good, a 90-second meal solutions startup, announced that it raised $3.5 million in seed funding.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
This week's featured CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund is SnackFutures.
- SnackFutures is an early stage innovation and venture hub launched by Mondelēz International in 2018 to take advantage of changing consumer trends and preferences and to unlock growth opportunities in snacking around the world.
- SnackFutures aims to bring together talent, partnerships and funding across three integrated mandates:
- Invention of new brands and businesses in key strategic areas
- Reinvention of small-scale Mondelēz brands with large-scale potential
- Venturing with start-up entrepreneurs to seed new businesses
- SnackFutures has launched the following brands:
- CaPao (US)
- Ruckus and Co (US)
- NoCOé (France)
- CoLab is SnackFutures' signature start-up engagement program. The applications for CoLab are now open with link available at SnackFutures - Open Innovation Submission Form. The program begins in Spring 2023.
Links to Relevant Content and Events
ARTICLES
- From Science to CPG: New Ventures Create Opportunities For Startups
- How Agtech Start-Ups Can Survive a Capital Drought
- 'Clean Comfort Food' Brand Launches Equity Crowdfunding Campaign
- Vow Raises $49.2 Million to Expand Cultivated Meat Production (Australian Brand That Will Launch in the US in 2023)
- GrubMarket Acquires Fresh Software Solutions
- Sunny Sky Products Buys Aseptic Beverage Solutions Firm GoodWest
- 'Unbelievably Convenient' Proper Good Lands $3.5 Million in Seed Funding to Fuel Retail Expansion of Shelf-Stable Meals
- Keurig Dr Pepper invests $50 Million in Athletic Brewing
- Q3 2022 Foodtech Report
- Dark Kitchens Foodtech Muncher Raises US$27 Million in a Series B
- 'Unbelievably convenient' Proper Good Lands $3.5 Million in Seed Funding to Fuel Retail Expansion of Shelf-Stable Meals
EVENTS & OPPORTUNITIES
Naturally New York
Embracing Data in Your Retailer Pitch
Tuesday, November 29, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. ET
Join WeStock Co-Founder, Cameron McCarthy for an informative session on how brands can start unlocking retail success through data. Topics for discussion include:
- Telling your brand story with data
- Data solutions for emerging brands
- What buyers are looking for
- How to position your brand against competitors using data
Naturally Boulder
How to Collect and Protect Your Data and Leverage Your Consumer Relationships
Wednesday, November 30, 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. MT
These days, brands are finding data harder to collect, troublesome to secure, and more challenging to leverage. And with nationwide data privacy legislation tightening, the retirement of third-party cookies, iOS permission changes, and consumers' increasing efforts to control their data, it's only getting more difficult.
Learn about the new strategies and tools that ensure data compliance and build trusted consumer relationships that deliver user-generated content, word-of-mouth advocacy, ratings and reviews, sales growth and more.
In this session, we'll answer all of your data privacy, compliance, and consumer engagement questions to help you build a new data strategy and secure lasting brand love.
Speakers:
- Susan Frech, Founder and CEO of Vesta
- Tim Hayden, CEO & Managing Partner of Brain+Trust
Naturally Austin
I ❤️ Texas CPG Holiday Happy Hour
Thursday, December 1, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m. CT
Join this Texas-size holiday happy hour bringing together the incredible Texas CPG ecosystem!
There will be an opportunity for members of the community to showcase at this event. Fill out this form to submit your interest, deadline to apply is the 11th of November.
Naturally Bay Area
Leadership Networking Forums: CEOs & Founders Forum (In-Person) (Members Only)
In-Person Meeting, Thursday, December 1, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. PT (Zoom), followed by a Happy Hour hosted by Harmless Harvest
Location: Harmless Harvest Office, 1814 Franklin St., Suite 1000 (10th floor), Oakland, CA 94612
Executive coach, Jonathan Hoyt, will facilitate our interactive session and lead us through the exercise. Stay after the session to network and connect for a happy hour hosted by CEO Ben Mand and the Harmless Harvest team.
Proof of vaccination is required for this event. We will reach out to you to confirm.
You must be a paid member of Naturally Bay Area, and be a Founder or CEO of a Natural Products CPG brand to participate.
Speakers:
- Jonathan Hoyt, Partner, Leadership Consulting at DHR Global
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.
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.