In This Issue:
- Food Venture Financing Trends
- CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Funds
Food Venture Financing Trends
- Bengaluru-based functional food startup Lo! Foods raised $3.5 million in a Series B funding round to enhance operational capabilities and launch new product lines.
- Denso Corporation acquired Netherlands-based Axia Vegetable Seeds, a developer of high-yield tomato seeds for greenhouses, as part of its expansion into agricultural technology and controlled-environment farming.
- Big Idea Ventures, a global leader in food-tech, agri-tech, and materials science investments, announced the addition of seven startups to its Global Food Innovation Fund II portfolio. The cohort includes companies innovating in precision fermentation, alternative ingredients, and gluten-safe food sectors.
- Texas-based Vilore Foods acquired Tia Lupita Foods, a hot sauce and tortilla chip startup focused on simple ingredients and bold flavors.
CPG Corporate Venture and Private Equity Fund
This week's featured corporate venture and private equity fund is S2G Investments ("S2G").
- S2G invests in late-stage venture and growth-stage businesses across the food & agriculture, oceans, and energy industry sectors.
- By focusing on highly interconnected industries and markets, S2G creates value-added partnerships by tapping into cross-sector market dynamics that enable long-term success and innovative growth strategies for their partners.
- In the food and agriculture sector, S2G approaches their investments from a grower-to-grocer perspective, aiming to drive economic value creation by investing in innovative companies that promote healthier food and restore the environment to create shared wins for both farmers and consumers.
- Some of their portfolio companies include:
- Beyond Meat
- Eat the Change: the company behind organic, fair trade tea options, including Just Ice Tea
- Lavva: a producer of plant-based, dairy-free products made from pili nuts.
- UCAN: sports nutrition and energy products
- Maple Hill Creamery: 100% grass-fed organic dairy products.
[View source.]
