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Investing in the Future of Food: VMG Partners raises $850m to invest in CPGs with potential to be iconic By Elizabeth Crawford Known for its strong track record of helping emerging brands, like KIND, Bare Snacks and Spindrift, become household names, private equity firm VMG Partners is on the lookout once again for new investment opportunities after securing $850m for its Growth Fund V.
As in the past, VMG’s Growth Fund is seeking
“a small handful” of early- and later-stage consumer brands in the food & beverage, wellness, beauty & personal care and pet sectors that support consumers on their incremental health journey and which hold the potential to become iconic brands.
Investing in the Future of Food: Manna Tree investors seek emerging brands focused on human health As the ongoing pandemic accelerates consumer interest in the role of nutrition in wellness and underscores the supply chain’s fragility, the investors at Manna Tree Partners are looking for at least three growth stage companies that are revolutionizing the production, delivery and consumption of food to support human health.
With $235 million in assets under its management as of last month and six investments already in its portfolio to date, Manna Tree’s managing director Pam Shepherd shares in this episode of FoodNavigator-USA’s Investing in the Future of Food where she see the most potential to improve human health and create a more transparent, stable supply chain.
Selling direct-to-consumer (DTC) online has emerged as a favorite go-to-market strategy for emerging brands launching during the pandemic, and while it can offer better margins, a more intimate connection with shoppers and flexibility around pricing and assortment, the CEO of the DTC seafood company Get Maine Lobster warns going it alone online comes with significant challenges.
Among the most notable hurdles selling DTC online are driving discovery and brand building, which Mark Murrell explains he overcame when he founded Get Maine Lobster in 2009 by forging partnerships, some unexpected and others counterintuitive on the surface.
But, he explains in this episode of FoodNavigator-USA’s Investing in the Future of Food, maintaining this practice over the next decade and through the pandemic helped him drive 6X year-over-year growth and see a 425% increase in boxes and product shipped to more than 36,000 new consumers acquired in 2020 alone.