In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
- Links to Relevant Content and Events
Food Venture Financing Trends
- Danone, the parent company of Okios, announced it is acquiring Huel for $1.2 billion.
- Keurig Dr Pepper completed its acquisition of 96.22% of the shares of JDE Peet's for approximately $18.4 billion.
- Circulate Capital raised $220 million in the first close of its Emerging Markets Climate Action Fund.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund
This week's featured corporate venture and private equity fund is Bread & Butter Ventures.
- Bread & Butter Ventures (B&B) is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- B&B focuses on seed investments in ag/food tech, health tech, and enterprise SaaS.
- Founders receive post-investment support from B&B's teams (connecting companies with people, resources, and partners) to scale globally.
- Some of B&B's portfolio companies:
- Hungry, a corporate catering startup
- Bizzy, a cold brew coffee producer
- Chiyo, a fertility-to-postpartum maternity meal planning solution.
Links to Relevant Content and Events
ARTICLES
- All G Clears FDA Review for Precision-Fermented Lactoferrin
- Smarter Snack Packaging Reduces Waste, Labor
- Clean Label Drives Protein Innovation—From Seaweed Stabilizers to Yeast Based Alternatives
- Ecuador Trade Agreement Phases Out Beef, Pork Tariffs
- AI's Real Impact on Food Inspection: What Truly Matters
UPCOMING EVENTS
Naturally Chicago
Mentorship Celebration Reception and Networking Event
Wednesday, April 15 | 5–7 p.m. CT
Location: InvestBev, 222 N. LaSalle St., Chicago, IL
Naturally Chicago proudly invites you to join in their celebration of their Mentorship program, which pairs experienced industry leaders and experts with founders of rising-star emerging brands.
Naturally NorCal
Sales Forum: April Round Table
Thursday, April 16 | 12–1 p.m. PT
Location: Online Webinar
This month's Sales Forum meeting will be a roundtable discussion to cover your pressing needs—everything from trade show prep to distributor management best practices to trading tips on getting into your target retailer. The floor is yours!
The Sales Forum lead is Adam Biggs, Co-Founder of C2O Coconut Water and Vice President of Sales at Nova Naturals.
Naturally Colorado
Women in CPG: Coffee Chat
Friday, April 17 | 8–8:50 a.m. MT
Location: Online Webinar
Join Naturally Colorado for their April Women in CPG Coffee Chat, a facilitated virtual gathering designed to foster meaningful conversation and connection across the CPG community.
This month's theme explores something many of us are navigating in real time: how to protect our energy while doing meaningful work.
In industries built on passion, it can be easy to say yes to everything—opportunities, requests, collaborations, and commitments. But sustainable careers often require something harder: setting boundaries, recognizing burnout before it builds, and getting clearer about what deserves our time and attention.
Together, participants will reflect on questions like:
- What does a healthy boundary look like for you right now?
- Where are you learning to say no—or say yes more intentionally?
Speakers:
- Kara Janowsky, Principal Accountant & Fractional CFO at Sonder Accounting
- Susan Fecko, Principal & Chief Communications Officer at Black Dog Studio | Brand Communications
Naturally Los Angeles
2026 Trivia Night
Tuesday, April 21 | 6–9 p.m. PT
Location: Umbrella Club, 7465 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, CA
Join Naturally Los Angeles and put your knowledge to the test at their upcoming CPG Trivia Night! Whether you're a CPG guru or just curious about the industry, gather your friends for an evening of challenging questions, networking, and fun.
Naturally NorCal
Naturally Rising NorCal Pitch Slam + Community Celebration
Wednesday, April 22 | 3:30–8:30 p.m. PT
Location: Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA
Let's celebrate Northern California's up-and-coming Natural Products Industry brands with a community celebration and pitch competition. A select group of entrepreneurs will pitch to the industry's premier investors, retailers, advisors, and industry peers for a chance to win prizes worth $50K+, including $5,000 cash, and the opportunity to pitch on the national stage!
Naturally Colorado
Naturally Colorado's 21st Annual Pitch Slam
Wednesday, April 22 | 4:30–9 p.m. MT
Location: Social Capitol, 6543 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada, CO
Welcome to Naturally Colorado's 21st Annual Pitch Slam, now called Naturally Rising "The Conscious Business Pitch Competition"! Come cheer on your favorite brands as they compete for a generous prize package and title of Pitch Competition winner! Sample the latest and greatest new innovative products from the local community.
Naturally New England
BOSS GPT
Thursday, April 23 | 5:30–7:30 p.m. ET
Location: BevNet, 65 Chapel Street, Newton, MA
Member Exclusive Event: AI is quickly becoming part of every leader's toolkit—but most founders and operators are still figuring out how to use it beyond simple productivity.
Join Naturally New England for an interactive evening exploring how AI can support better leadership, decision-making, and problem solving. Led by Jeff Sigel, this session introduces the BossGPT framework—a practical way to think about using AI as a strategic thought partner rather than just a task tool.