In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund
- Links to Relevant Content and Events
Food Venture Financing Trends
- Nestlé acquired the remaining stake in yfood Labs GmbH, a European "smart food" RTD meals brand, in a deal valuing yfood at $523 million.
- Ingredion entered into an agreement to acquire UK-based ingredients company Tate & Lyle for $3.6 billion.
- Ryl Tea raised $20 million in its Series C financing and announced a licensing partnership with The Hershey Company to launch a Jolly Rancher-inspired tea.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund
This week's featured corporate venture and private equity fund is Minerva Foods.
- Minerva Foods is one of the leaders in the production and sale of fresh beef and its byproducts, live cattle exports, and beef processing in South America. Besides Brazil, Minerva Foods has productive units in Argentina, Paraguay, Colombia and Uruguay.
- Some of the highly recognized Minerva Foods brands include:
- Estância 92, a Brazilian brand
- Minerva Angus, a Brazilian brand
- Frigomerc, a Paraguayan brand
- Cabaña Las Lilas, an Argentine brand
- Pul, an Uruguayan brand
- Minerva Foods in Brazil rolled out a venture-capital fund called MF92 in August 2020.
- MF92 made its first investment of $4 million in San-Francisco based Clara Foods, a maker of plant-based protein ingredients for food and beverage products.
Links to Relevant Content and Events
ARTICLES
- Cargill Invests €56 Million To Expand Belgian Food Innovation And Production
- J&J Snack Foods Completes Plant Consolidation, Turns to Distribution
- Nomad Foods Invests £2.2 Million In Lowestoft Waffle Production Site
- Raisio Secures €1.8 Million For Upcycled Grain Fibre Innovation Project
- Ryl Tea Secures $20 Million Series C as 'Modern Tea' Category Gains Momentum
- With $30 Million Series A Raise, Marble Technologies is Creating the Future of Meatpacking in Nebraska
UPCOMING EVENTS
Naturally Chicago
Naturally Chicago June Morning Mingle
Tuesday, June 16 | 8 –9:30 a.m. CT
Location: Chicago French Market, 131 North Clinton Street, Chicago, IL
Join Naturally Chicago for their last Morning Mingle of season.
They've gotten great feedback on their May 27 Pitch Competition and Innovation Forum, so they're declaring this Mingle an informal celebration of the big event. They have confirmation that Jack Joseph and Kiara Tomirotti—co-founders of RMBR Kombucha, the Pitch Slam's first-place winner—will attend the Mingle, and other finalists are invited.
Naturally New York
THE NEW WELLNESS ECONOMY: How GLP-1 Is Reshaping Food, Nutrition & Supplements
Tuesday, June 16 | 1 –2 p.m. ET
Location: Online Webinar
As consumer definitions of wellness rapidly evolve, the intersection of weight management, GLP-1 medications, and nutrition is reshaping the health landscape. This session explores how these shifts are driving new behaviors across food, beverage, and supplement categories.
NIQ will share data-driven insights on how consumers are navigating weight management—from the rise of GLP-1 adoption to increasing demand for functional nutrition, vitamins, and personalized wellness solutions. They'll unpack what this means for brands, retailers, and innovators, including changing purchase patterns, emerging product opportunities, and the growing role of holistic health.
Speakers:
- Yvonne Buisson, Senior Director of NielsenIQ
- Mike McGroarty, Senior Account Executive-Emerging Brands at NielsenIQ
Naturally San Diego
Inside Veritiv: Packaging, Warehousing & Distribution in Action
Wednesday, June 17 | 11 a.m.–1 p.m. PT
Location: Veritiv, 2005 Harmony Grove Road, Escondido, CA
Naturally San Diego is excited to invite you to a special, small-group facility tour at Veritiv's massive distribution facility in Escondido, where their operations team will open up the floor for a real-world look at how modern packaging, warehousing, and distribution come together under one roof to support growing brands. You'll walk the facility, see how product moves from receiving to storage to outbound shipment, and learn how Veritiv thinks about packaging design, inventory management, and order fulfillment at scale.
A highlight of the visit will be seeing elements of the Stone Brewing solution in action, offering a tangible example of how a major brand partners with Veritiv to manage complex, high-volume logistics. Whether you're just starting to build out your operations or looking to optimize an existing supply chain, this tour is designed to spark new ideas and give you a clearer picture of what "good" looks like behind the scenes.
Naturally NorCal
QA & Operations Forum: SQF Edition 10
Wednesday, June 17 | 2–3 p.m. PT
Location: Online Webinar
Connect, collaborate, and grow with our Forums—peer networking groups designed to bring together professionals in similar roles for meaningful connections, fresh insights, and actionable solutions to shared challenges.
June Topic: SQF Edition 10
Safe Quality Food (SQF) is one of the most widely recognized food safety and quality certification programs in the natural products industry. Version 10 is the latest update to the standard, introducing significant changes to auditing requirements, food safety culture expectations, and supplier management—and it's impacting operations teams across the supply chain.
This month, we're joined by the team at D.L. Newslow & Associates, a food safety consulting and training firm with decades of experience helping companies implement and maintain certification programs like SQF. They'll walk us through what's new in version 10 and what your team needs to know.
Speakers:
- Alanna Barfield, Food Safety & Consultation at D.L. Newslow & Associates, Inc.
- Debby L. Newslow, Founder and President of D.L. Newslow & Associates, Inc.
- Ron Potochar, Senior Food Safety and Quality Expert at D.L. Newslow & Associates, Inc.
Naturally NorCal
Sales Forum: June Meeting with Faire
Thursday, June 18 | 12–1 p.m. PT
Location: Online Webinar
This month's Sales Forum features a special guest: Kyle Hughes of Faire. Kyle is joining us as part of our ongoing series bringing retailers and distributors into the room to share how their businesses work and the best ways to collaborate with them.
Naturally Colorado
Women in CPG: Coffee Chat
Thursday, June 19 | 8–8:50 a.m. MT
Location: Online Webinar
Join Naturally Colorado for their June Women in CPG Coffee Chat, a facilitated virtual gathering designed to turn connection into action.
Speakers:
- Kara Janowsky, Principal Accountant & Fractional CFO at Sonder Accounting
- Susan Fecko, Principal & Chief Communications Officer at Black Dog Studio | Brand Communications