In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
- Links to Relevant Content and Events
Food Venture Financing Trends
- Seattle-based craft beverage company, Jones Soda Co., sold its cannabis beverage business to MJ Reg Disrupters for $3 million.
- Belgian startup Koppie secured significant pre-seed funding to scale its alt-coffee operations.
- Swiss biomanufacturing company Planetary SA acquired fungi-based meat alternative startup Libre Foods, located in Barcelona, aiming to accelerate the industrialization of bio-based food and material solutions.
- Leading plant-based fast-food chain Odd Burger Corporation announced a new partnership with Vegan Supply, one of North America's largest online vegan grocery retailers, to distribute Odd Burger's complete retail line of alternative meat products.
- PepsiCo partnered with Chilean startup NotCo to launch NotCo’s meat-alternative products into additional South American markets.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund
This week's featured corporate venture and private equity fund is BRF S.A.
- Based in Brazil, BRF S.A. is one of the largest global food companies, employing nearly 100,000 people across 120 countries to deliver high-value products to over 300,000 customers.
- With 90 years of experience, BRF S.A. continues to grow through strategic partnerships, including their May 2025 merger with Marfrig, Brazil's second-largest food processing company (more information here).
- Some of their leading portfolio brands in the Americas include:
- Sadia, a leading global frozen food producer.
- Perdigão, a Brazilian pork and poultry producer.
- Qualy, a Brazilian household name in the margarine industry.
- Perdix, a Brazilian poultry brand specializing in frozen products.
Links to Relevant Content and Events
ARTICLES
- Blue Diamond Growers Shuttering Sacramento, Calif., Plant
- New York Sugar Refinery to be Closed
- Cayuga Milk Ingredients Opens New Consumer Goods Plant in $270 Million New York Expansion
- Shiru Invites Brands to Harness its AI Platform to Ride GLP-1 Wave
UPCOMING EVENTS
Naturally Wisconsin
Naturally Wisconsin in Chicago: IFT FIRST Breakfast
Monday, July 14 | 7:30–9:30 am. CT
Location: Spoke & Bird, 205 E 18th St., Chicago, IL
Join Naturally Wisconsin for an engaging breakfast roundtable at Spoke & Bird during IFT FIRST! Connect with fellow professionals passionate about the natural and organic food industry in Wisconsin. Enjoy a delicious breakfast in a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere - note that food is available but not provided.
Naturally New York
Riverside Chat with Whole Foods Market
Wednesday, July 16 | 5:30–8 p.m. ET
Location: Whole Foods Market, Harborside 3, 210 Hudson Street, Jersey City, NJ
Spend a summer evening with Naturally New York and Whole Foods Market at their Jersey City HQ for an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience to see where the magic happens!
Step inside for a rare Q&A with category merchants and mingle with fellow NNY members while enjoying light bites, drinks, and panoramic views of the Hudson River.
Speaker:
- John Lawson, Forager for Local & Emerging Brands at Whole Foods Market
Naturally New England
Summer Shindy 2025
Thursday, July 17 | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. ET
Location: Kimball Farm Westford, 400 Littleton Road, Westford, MA
Celebrate summer with us at the First Annual Summer Shindy—a fun-filled, family-friendly event featuring…
- Unlimited BBQ & Nonalcoholic Beverages – Savor a barbecue feast paired with unlimited nonalcoholic drinks to keep you refreshed.
- Unlimited Ice Cream Bar – Treat yourself to endless scoops of Kimball Farm's famous ice cream!
Naturally Wisconsin
Small Business Happy Hour
Thursday, July 17 | 4–5:30 p.m. CT
Location: Pasture and Plenty, 2433 University Avenue, Madison
Join Naturally Wisconsin and Pasture and Plenty for a Small Business Happy Hour Series, a three-part summer gathering for folks growing and making good food in Wisconsin.
Naturally Network
ConsciousCPG Summit 2025
July 21-24, 2025
Join Naturally Seattle for a 4-day virtual summit designed to equip CPG leaders with tools, insights, and connections to truly build a conscious business.
Naturally New England
Equip For Surfing Volunteer Day
Thursday, July 24 | 4:30–7 p.m. ET
Location: York Beach, York, ME
Join Naturally New England for a meaningful morning at the beach as we partner with Equip for Surfing, an adaptive surf program that helps individuals of all abilities experience the freedom and joy of surfing.
Naturally Colorado
Happy People, Healthy Profits: The Culture Shifts That Work
Thursday, July 24 | 3–6 p.m. MT
Location: CU Boulder Center for Community Building, 2010 Willard Loop Dr, Boulder, CO
In this lively interactive workshop, you'll collaborate with fellow leaders to explore how proactivity, intentionality and heart weave together to give you a competitive edge – attracting, retaining and engaging top talent.
Join Peggy Shell, Founder & CEO of Creative Alignments, who has been connecting the hottest brands with the best talent for decades. She will share her insights and wisdom from some of the industry's most impactful leaders to reveal the secret sauce for building thriving workplace cultures.