In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
- Links to Relevant Content and Events
Food Venture Financing Trends
- Fly by Jing, a modern Chinese foodtech startup that specializes in chili crisps, announced that it raised $12 million in its Series B round.
- Burger Index, a Spanish-based foodtech startup that provides food and beverage data to F&B businesses, announced that it raised $1.3 million in seed funding.
- Next Gen Foods announced that it acquired Mwah!, a plant-based dairy startup company, for an undisclosed amount.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund
This week's featured CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund is Tiger Brands.
- Tiger Brands Ltd is a major manufacturer of branded food, home-care, and personal-care products in South Africa. Their product offering includes the following:
- Perishables
- Personal-care products and home-care products
- Snacks
- Baby care
- Beverages
- Grains and groceries and
- Out-of-home meals
- In June 2021, Tiger Brands launched Tiger Brands Venture Capital Fund, its corporate venture capital arm.
- This VC fund provides food & beverage startups the required access to capital and capability required to expand their business operations.
- Additionally, the fund invests in entrepreneurs with businesses that align to Tiger Brands’ consumer-relevant growth platforms of Health and Nutrition, Snackification, and Economical food options.
- Portfolio companies include:
- Ice Cap
- Tastic
- Albany
- Aunt Caroline
- Hall's
- Oros
Links to Relevant Content and Events
ARTICLES
- Bank Collapses Unlikely to Affect Large Food Companies, But Smaller Upstarts at Risk, Analyst Says
- Efforts Underway to Make Upcycled Grains More Affordable
- In the Kitchen: Innovations in Residential Food Waste
- Next Gen Foods Acquires Non-Dairy Gelato Startup
- Brain-Health Baby Food Brand Secures Funding
- KPM Analytics acquires Smart Vision Works
- Biotech Startup Tiamat Closes On $2 Million Seed-Extension For Animal-Free Recombinant Growth Factors
- Andes Completes $30 Million Series A to Permanently Remove Carbon Dioxide From The Air and Convert it Into Minerals
- BlueNalu Advances Strategic Partnership with Nutreco to Progress Cell-Cultured Seafood
- Fly By Jing Raises $12 Million in Series B from Prelude Growth Partners and Pendulum®
- Spanish FoodTech start-up Burger Index raises $1.3 Million to drive expansion in GCC
- Next Gen Foods, Makers Of Tindle, Acquires New Plant-Based Dairy Startup, Mwah!, And Unveils Expanded Brand Portfolio At Expo West
UPCOMING EVENTS
Naturally Bay Area
Quick Bites: Category Trends with Top Retail Buyers
Tuesday, March 28 12:00 – 12:45 p.m. PT
Hear from category buyers at leading Bay Area retailers about how their review processes, timing, and criteria are continuing to evolve in this "new normal". They’ll discuss the trends they're seeing, preferred marketing support tactics, and how to set yourself up for success.
Speakers:
- Susan Frech, Founder and CEO of Vesta
- Thuy Nguyen,Category Manager at Thrive Market
- Tobi Seriki,National Category Manager at Albertsons
Naturally Los Angeles
March Mixer
Tuesday, March 28 12:00 – 12:45 p.m. PT
Location: Gulp Restaurant & Brew Co, 13020 Pacific Promenade, Los Angeles, California
Expo West is now behind us, time to unwind with Naturally LA. Join Naturally LA for an informal evening of networking with other founders and executives in the Natural CPG community!
Naturally Chicago
Power to Pitch
Wednesday, March 29, 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. CST
Power To Pitch helps founders create a winning pitch, deck and fundraising strategy, then directly connects them with investors in their industry. Founder/CEO Kat Weaver was able to scale and sell her first company that she started out of her college dorm room. After winning 22 pitch competitions, she founded Power To Pitch to help founders build a winning pitch, deck & fundraising strategy to help them get funded faster.
Speakers:
- Kat Weaver, Founder/CEO of Power To Pitch