Editor's Note
Last week, the Federal Reserve Board raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 0.25%, bringing its target range to 3.75% to 4.0%. The move signals that the Fed remains committed to taming inflation, even at the risk of slowing economic activity with higher short-term rates. For food and beverage founders, the significance may be less about the rate increase and more about the financing environment ahead. Investors are likely to continue rewarding brands with strong gross margins, efficient customer acquisition, and disciplined growth, while companies that require significant capital and an uncertain path to reach scale and grow demand may face a more challenging fundraising environment.
— Shelly Malik
For questions or additional information, contact Shelly Malik at ShellyMalik@dwt.com. You can also stay connected with DWT's latest Food + Beverage insights by following our Food + Beverage LinkedIn page.
In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund
- Links to Relevant Content and Events
Food Venture Financing Trends
- Petit Pot, which makes French-inspired desserts, announced that it raised seven-figures in its Series A round.
- Mid-Day Squares, a Canadian-based company making refrigerated snack bars, announced that it raised $8 million in a debt financing round.
- Lioness, a company making functional fruit snacks specifically for women, announced that it closed on an up-to-$5 million line of credit with JPalmer Collective.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund
This week's featured corporate venture and private equity fund is Five Seasons Ventures (FSV).
- FSV is a Paris-based venture fund investing in food and beverage consumer food brands that emphasize environmental sustainability. FSV targets Series Seed to Series B European startups and invests in the range of €2-10M.
- FSV's portfolio companies include:
- Air Up, maker of the scent-based taste drinking system
- THIS, producer of plant-based meat offerings (such as chicken and bacon) targeting flexitarians, which emphasizes healthful ingredients and environmental responsibility
- DASH Water, maker of ethically sourced, fruit-infused water
Links to Relevant Content and Events
ARTICLES
- California approves first statewide non-ultraprocessed food label
- Beyond adds protein bars, powders in portfolio expansion
- NoFence's new herd management platform points to virtual fencing's next chapter
- FFAR funding takes a closer look at avian influenza transmission
- Michigan confirms investigation into bovine TB herds
- Holly Poultry opens production plant
- Formo scales precision-fermented casein ahead of US debut as narrative shifts from sustainability and ethics to performance
- CHS to build Wisconsin soybean processing plant
UPCOMING EVENTS
Naturally New York
Inventory Management 101: The Growing Brand's Survival Guide
Tuesday, September 29 | 1–2 p.m. ET
Location: Online Webinar
Growing is great. Until your inventory can't keep up and it starts costing you margin.
If you're running a growing brand, you already know the feeling: orders and sales channels are climbing, SKUs are multiplying, and the spreadsheet that used to work just...doesn't anymore. Stockouts. Overselling. Manual counts that never quite match reality. Sound familiar?
Join Cin7 and Pale Blue Dot for a practical session built for brands that are scaling and need their operations to keep pace. They will break down what every growing business needs to get right when managing inventory, whether you're shipping 10 orders a week or 10,000.
Speakers:
- Russell Kohn, Founder of Pale Blue Dot Partners
- Kinley Shotts, Director of Partnerships at Cin7
Naturally Colorado
Naturally Colorado & Pattern Break Brewing Networking Collision
Wednesday, September 30 | 5–8 p.m. MT
Location: Pattern Break Brewing, 3550 Frontier Avenue, Boulder, CO
Naturally Colorado is excited to bring their September Networking Collision to Pattern Break Brewing in Boulder. Pattern Break is an independent brewery and taproom built around breaking from convention, with a welcoming space to gather over locally brewed beer. With a spacious, park-like beer garden, a cozy taproom, food and low- and non-alcoholic beverage options, it's a great setting to connect with the Naturally Colorado community.
Naturally Colorado
Sustainability Forum
Thursday, October 1 | 3–5 p.m. MT
Location: Yellow Barn Farm, 9417 N Foothills Hwy, Longmont, CO
Join Naturally Colorado for an immersive Sustainability Forum at Yellow Barn Farm, where you'll explore how regenerative agriculture can strengthen ecosystems, build community resilience, and shape a more sustainable future for our food system.
Hosted in partnership with Drylands Agroecology Research (DAR), this behind-the-scenes experience will introduce members to the work happening on one of Colorado's leading regenerative farms. DAR is a Boulder County nonprofit dedicated to restoring landscapes through regenerative grazing, agroforestry, water stewardship, and perennial agriculture, while researching and sharing practices that improve ecological health and community resilience.
Naturally NorCal
Emerging Founders Forum: October Meeting
Thursday, October 1 | 3–5:30 p.m. PT
Location: Private residence, Piedmont, CA
Join Naturally NorCal for an energizing afternoon of real talk, peer connection, and shared experience.
This special gathering is designed for early-stage founders in the natural products space who are navigating the ups and downs of growing a business, from scaling operations and building a brand to raising capital and leading a team. It's a space to swap stories, ask questions, and build lasting relationships with others who get it.
You must be a paid member of Naturally NorCal and be a Founder or CEO of a Natural Products CPG brand to participate. This group is designed for early-stage founders under $3MM, but CEOs and Founders of larger businesses are welcome to join and share your wisdom.
Naturally San Diego
Read the Label—A Screening of Pretty Ugly
Sunday, October 4 | 4:30–8 p.m. PT
Location: The Sea House, 246 North Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA
What's really inside your skincare, shampoo, or sunscreen? Join Naturally San Diego for an evening of community, conversation, and conscious beauty at The Sea House in Encinitas.
Hosted by Indiefog Naturals, Naturally San Diego, and the San Diego Environmental Film Festival, Read the Label brings together beauty experts, formulators, and everyday consumers for a night dedicated to one question: what are we actually putting on our bodies?
Naturally Colorado
Summit to Shelf: Scaling Food and Ag Businesses on the West Slope Workshop
Monday, October 5 | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. MT
Location: La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Avenue, Durango, CO
Summit to Shelf is a two-part program designed to support agriculture, food, and beverage entrepreneurs across the West Slope, from early-stage ideas to growth-ready value-added agricultural and consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands. This program combines a hands-on business workshop and a live founder showcase.