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Food + Beverage

Food Venture Financing News – Weekly Issue No. 287

07.13.26
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In This Issue:

  • Kroger announced it will acquire Giant Eagle, a regional grocery chain, for $1.65 billion.
  • Coconut Cult, a probiotic coconut yogurt brand, secured $12.5 million in equipment financing to expand production capacity.
  • CVC Capital Partners entered into an agreement to acquire Italian ingredients supplier Irca, expanding its presence in the food ingredients sector.

CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund

This week's featured 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; and
    • Venturing with startup entrepreneurs to seed new businesses.
  • SnackFutures has launched a new startup program called CoLab to collaborate with startups to unleash trends, talent, and technologies. Mission driven snack brands are invited to apply for the 12-week program that includes a curriculum of mentoring, workshops, access to leadership and partners. For more information on CoLab, please refer to this link: SnackFutures - CoLab.
  • SnackFutures has invested in these four brands:
    • HU Products
    • Craize
    • celleste bio
    • Torr FoodTech

ARTICLES

UPCOMING EVENTS

Naturally Colorado
Sustainability Forum

Wednesday, July 15 | 3–4:30 p.m. MT
Location: Old Salt and Spinster Sisters, 516 Violet St., Golden, CO

The Sustainability + Impact Forum unites mission-driven brand leaders with sustainability experts, suppliers, and partners committed to advancing responsible business practices in Colorado's CPG ecosystem. This Forum explores topics such as regenerative sourcing, waste reduction, packaging innovation, carbon footprinting, certifications, and impact measurement. Members share lived experience, emerging models, and actionable tools that help companies meaningfully align environmental and social values with business growth. By participating, members gain a supportive network dedicated to building a more resilient, transparent, and values-aligned food and CPG industry.

Join Naturally Colorado for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Spinster Sisters Co / Old Salt Grooming Supply Microsoapery, a Colorado-based pioneer in sustainable personal care manufacturing. This session offers an inside look at how a certified B Corp and Public Benefit Corporation scales sustainable production without compromising values.

Register

Naturally Colorado
Operations Forum

Wednesday, July 15 | 3:30–5 p.m. MT
Location: KeHE Innovation & Growth Office, 1750 14th Street, Boulder, CO

The Operations Forum connects brand operators, supply chain partners, and technical experts to solve the operational challenges that shape a company's ability to scale. Designed for professionals responsible for supply chain management, production planning, sourcing, quality assurance, forecasting, manufacturing coordination, co-packer relationships, inventory management, logistics and operational systems that support scalable growth. Members engage around forecasting, production planning, sourcing, co-man relationships, quality, logistics, and margin improvement. This Forum emphasizes hands-on learning, process refinement, and the practical systems that keep businesses running smoothly. With a combination of brand experience and applied service-provider expertise, the Operations Forum provides a grounded, solutions-oriented environment where members strengthen their operational foundation and enhance long-term resilience.

Operational Discipline: Your Brand's First Line of Legal Defense

This roundtable helps operations leaders understand the legal exposures embedded in everyday operational decisions across manufacturing, supply chain, quality, and people systems. The focus is on reducing ambiguity, strengthening contracts and cross-functional alignment, and building operational discipline that protects the brand long before legal issues surface. Leaders will walk away with practical tools, clearer expectations, and a stronger partnership model with legal and compliance teams.

Register

Naturally New York
AMAZON 101: Listing, Selling, & Succeeding

Thursday, July 16 | 12–1 p.m. ET
Location: Online Webinar

From listing your brand to mastering sales, operations, marketing, and more, this session offers a broad yet insightful overview. Whether you're a novice or seeking to optimize your Amazon strategy, you'll gain valuable tips and best practices to propel your brand forward in the competitive E-commerce landscape.

Speaker:

  • Chris Kajander, Co-Founder of Broadleaf Digital

Register

Naturally Colorado
Women in CPG: Coffee Chat

Friday, July 17 | 8–8:50 a.m. MT
Location: Online Webinar

Join Naturally Colorado for their July Women in CPG Coffee Chat, a facilitated virtual gathering designed to create space for honest conversation and real connection across the CPG community. This month's theme is one that tends to get people talking: the things we wish someone had told us earlier.

The CPG world has a lot of conventional wisdom that doesn't always hold up. There are lessons that take years to learn, assumptions that turn out to be wrong, and realities about this industry that rarely make it into articles or panels. July's conversation is an invitation to put some of that on the table.

Speakers:

  • Kara Janowsky, Principal Accountant & Fractional CFO at Sonder Accounting
  • Susan Fecko, Principal & Chief Communications Officer at Black Dog Studio | Brand Communications

Register

Naturally Chicago
Tour The Lincoln Park Farmers Market

Saturday, July 18 | 9–10 a.m. CT
Location: The Lincoln Park Farmers Market, 724 West Armitage Ave., Chicago, IL

Naturally Chicago is partnering with the Local Food Forum publication on a tour that will salute The Lincoln Park Farmers Market's 45th anniversary. This fun and informal event will take place on Saturday, July 18, beginning at 9 a.m. A limited number of tickets, priced at just $25, are available for purchase. The market's hours are 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., so you are welcome to come early or stay later.

Register

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