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Top Food & Beverage Investors

Top Food & Beverage Investors

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Looking to Find Food & Beverage Investors?

Do you have a Food & Beverage company that you’re looking to scale with investors? This is a list of the top financing sources that startups can use to raise capital, finance inventory, and scale distribution for your business.
Businesses in the Food & Beverage company that have garnered the interest of top investors in the industry include plant based foods (alternative proteins to meat), food delivery startups, environmentally friendly food sources, non-alcoholic beverages, food waste prevention, artificial sweetener solutions to curb sugar, affordable food options, and more.
These Food & Beverage Startup Investors share their expert insights on many of the most frequently asked questions in the industry.

List of Food & Beverage Startup Investors

VC Investors in Food & Beverage Startups

boulder food group
Boulder Food Group (BFG) is a venture capital firm that seeks partnerships with early stage food and beverage consumer product companies. We work alongside exceptional entrepreneurs to ensure the business is able to deliver sustainable growth and outperform its competitors. In addition to providing our portfolio companies with capital, BFG provides teams with the advice most needed to make critical decisions and maximize opportunities. This advice spans operational strategy, tactical marketing, channel development, organizational design and capital planning.
VMG
VMG Partners (“VMG”) is a private equity firm specializing in building iconic consumer brands. Since it was founded in 2005, VMG has been at the forefront of consumer products investing, partnering with entrepreneurial companies, founders and co-investors to deliver a depth of experience to help grow, scale and prepare companies for exit. Beyond capital, our value-added investment approach utilizes our deep experience, strategic guidance, and passionate focus to help our partners accelerate growth, scale brand awareness, and achieve their own definition of success.
Swander Pace Capital
Swander Pace Capital (“SPC”) is a leading private equity firm dedicated to investing in middle-market consumer products companies in North America and makes equity investments in manufacturers, marketers, and service providers across a wide spectrum of consumer industries. Since 1996, we have been focused on building and growing world-class consumer businesses. SPC was founded by partners with a diverse combination of private equity, consulting, investment banking, and operating experience.
TA Associates
TA is one of the most experienced global growth private equity firms. We have more than 50 years of experience helping to scale companies in targeted sectors within our five core industries of technology, healthcare, financial services, consumer and business services. TA invests in profitable, growing companies with opportunities for sustained growth. Since our founding, TA has raised $47.5 billion in capital and has invested in more than 550 companies around the world.
Circle Up
CircleUp is a privately owned company on a mission to empower entrepreneurs with the funding and support that they need to thrive. Having facilitated investments for 500+ brands and counting, CircleUp uses their business technology platform, Helio, to increase the speed, quality, and objectivity of decision making in the private company landscape. Using a unique combination of data and machine learning technology, CircleUp makes it possible for underserved entrepreneurs to finally get the support they deserve. With a vast network of entrepreneurs, institutional investors, industry experts, and flexible financing solutions, CircleUp is shining a light on untapped human potential and transforming the world of private enterprise.
SharkTank
Shark Tank is an American business reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on ABC. The show is the American franchise of the international format Dragons’ Den, which originated in Japan as Money Tigers in 2001. It shows entrepreneurs making business presentations to a panel of five investors or “sharks,” who decide whether to invest in their company. The series has been a ratings success in its time slot, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Structured Reality Program four times (2014–2017) in the first four years of that category’s existence. Prior to that (2012–13), it won Outstanding Reality Program.
Sunrise Strategic Partners
Sunrise Strategic Partners, LLC (“Sunrise”), based in Boulder, Colorado, provides growth capital and expertise to emerging brands in the healthy, active and sustainable living space that resonate with millennials, have a strong proof of concept and have reached approximately $10-$20 million in revenue. The Sunrise team is deeply experienced in scaling brands and supports these investments by adding strategic value and guidance on tactical priorities. Sunrise Strategic Partners was founded by Steve Hughes, founder of Boulder Brands, and Trilantic North America, a leading private equity firm.
Temasek
emasek is an investment company headquartered in Singapore. Supported by 13 offices internationally, Temasek owns a net portfolio value of S$381 billion (US$283 billion) as at 31 March 2021. Our portfolio covers a broad spectrum of sectors, including: financial services; telecommunications, media & technology; transportation & industrials; consumer & real estate; life sciences & agribusiness; as well as energy & resources.
PowerPlant Ventures
PowerPlant Partners is a growth equity firm investing in emerging consumer food, beverage, foodservice, food-tech and personal wellness brands. We provide capital, strategic guidance and operating expertise to visionary teams building extraordinary companies that create a healthy, sustainable future for all. We are your growth partner for purpose-led companies building tomorrow’s iconic brands by solving today’s greatest challenges.
Danone Manifesto Ventures
Danone Manifesto Ventures is our corporate venture arm, which partners with a tribe of disruptive entrepreneurs to serve the food revolution.
Wild Ventures
Wild Ventures is an influencer-based fund focused on consumer health products and technology. We believe that the best way to combat chronic health conditions is lifestyle — not pills and surgery — so we invest in and promote companies that empower people to lead healthier lives. Unlike most traditional VC funds, Wild Ventures is particularly good at online distribution and sales. We assemble investor syndicates that include some of the top figures and founders in healthy living who can, among other things, drive direct sales. But it has to be a product we love and believe in — made by founders who are true believers — otherwise we’re not going to put our reputations behind it.
Big Idea Ventures
Big Idea Ventures is a venture firm: Our first fund is the New Protein Fund, we raised USD$50M to invest in the best companies in plant-based, cell-based and fermentation-enabled foods, ingredients and technologies. We combine capital and partnerships with global corporates, thought leaders and family offices to support the world’s most compelling entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers around the world. Big Idea Ventures is a leader in the global food ecosystem committed to ensuring we can support our people and planet in a sustainable way.

GlacierPoint Enterprises is a portfolio company of Mill Point Capital LLC. Mill Point Capital LLC is a private equity firm focused on control investments in lower-middle market companies in North America across the business services, IT services and industrials sectors in North America. Mill Point’s experienced team of investors and Executive Partners seek portfolio company value enhancement through rigorous implementation of transformative strategic initiatives and operational improvements. Mill Point is based in New York, NY.

Science CPG Investors

Science Inc. is a Los Angeles-based startup studio that develops, invests in, and acquires various businesses. Science Inc. invests money and offers mastery to bring corporations to profitability. 

Science is most known for investing in CPG companies Dollar Shave Club and Liquid Death.

AF Ventures (formerly AccelFoods) is a venture capital fund investing in high-growth consumer product companies. Founded in 2014, AF Ventures invests in health living, directed at consumer brands in the food& beverage, health & wellness, beauty, personal care, household, and pet sectors.

vc-investor-food-beverage-clean-tech

L Catterton

A private equity firm that invests in consumer-focused businesses, including many food and beverage startups, such as Rhône Group, Chef’d, and Nudie.

Founders Found

A venture capital firm that has invested in a variety of food and beverage startups, including Impossible Foods, Hampton Creek, and Kettle and Fire.

Thrive Capital

 A venture capital firm that has invested in successful food and beverage startups, such as Warby Parker, Instacart, and Plated.

Blue Pool Capital

A private equity firm that invests in consumer-focused businesses, including many food and beverage startups, such as Beyond Meat, Postmates, and Sweetgreen.

301 INC

301 INC is the venture capital arm of General Mills. We invest in driven and passionate founders across the value chain who are transforming the food ecosystem. Our team is purpose-built to partner with founder teams and to help realize their ambitions.

A plant-based foods Investment Company focused on agribusiness, foodtech, and CPG brands. Eat Well Group evaluates new investment opportunities in plant-based foods that include but are not limited to precision fermentation and regenerative agriculture. They also offer the opportunity to invest in the entire plant-based supply chain, from seed-to-market, not a single brand or a single piece of the value chain.

Food Funded

FOOD FUNDED is a network that brings together investors and entrepreneurs in the food and beverage space. We are focused on early stage food and beverage companies, and skew towards companies with a positive impact on the community.

Every year we review dozens, if not hundreds of applications, and evaluate companies based on their financial merits, and their impact on the community. We showcase equity and debt investment opportunities. From a financial perspective, as with other early stage investors, we evaluate traction (do they have a product and brand that customers love?), economics (e.g. current and future margins), the strength of the founders and team, and the growth potential (i.e. market size, potential for expansion into adjacencies, etc.).

Who is the Biggest Food and Beverage Company Acquiring Startups?

Nestle is the world’s largest food and beverage company in the world 2021, maintaining its lead in the industry as sales of its frozen staples such as Hot Pockets, Stouffer’s, and DiGiorno increase alongside coffee brands such as Nespresso.

Crowdfunding Investor Platforms for Launching Food & Beverage Companies

Kickstarter
Kickstarter helps creative projects come to life. Backers have pledged over $6B to projects on our platform, helping artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers, and other creators make their ideas a reality. In 2022, we’ll be experimenting with a work-from-anywhere policy, a four-day workweek, and new asynchronous work practices that support a fully virtual and flexible work environment.
IndieGoGo
Indiegogo is an American crowdfunding website founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowd funding. Indiegogo allows people to solicit funds for an idea, charity, or start-up business.
StartEngine
StartEngine is one of the leading equity crowdfunding platforms in the U.S., where everyday people can find and invest in early-growth companies and startups, as well as a variety of alternative assets and collectibles. StartEngine has helped more than 500 companies raise $500M+ from a community of over 600,000 prospective investors. Based in Los Angeles, the company was created in 2015 by Howard Marks, co-founder of Activision, and Ron Miller.
WeFunder
We’re the Robinhood for pre-IPO startups. Everyone can angel invest $100 in a Community Round. On May 16, 2016, it became legal for everyday people to invest as little as $100 in startups and small businesses. Since then, we’ve helped 1,860 founders raise almost $500M from their community – for flying cars, coffee shops, and everything in between. We’re a Public Benefit Corporation with a mission to revitalize capitalism and keep the American dream alive. GDP growth is slowing. Wealth inequality is increasing. Entrepreneurship is dying across America; falling from 10.6% to 3.6% among those under 30 since 1989.

Food & Beverage Trade Show Conferences for Investors

Fancy Food Show
The Specialty Food Association, Inc. (formerly the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Inc.) is a not-for-profit membership-based trade association in the United States representing 3,000+ businesses. The SFA was established in 1952 to foster trade, commerce and interest in the specialty food industry in the U.S. The Association is a not-for-profit organization whose members are specialty food artisans, purveyors, importers and entrepreneurs, as well as distributors, retailers, and others involved in the specialty food trade. Overall specialty food sales in the U.S. totaled over $120 billion in 2015.
ExpoWest
World’s leading natural, organic & healthy products events bringing together our industry to cultivate a high-integrity CPG and retail ecosystem that creates health, joy and justice for all people while regenerating the planet. #NPEVCommunity: Virtual Platform, year-round #ExpoEast: Sept 28-Oct 1, 2022 #ExpoWest: March 7-11, 2023
SupplySide Network 365 is an intelligent, industry hub for health & nutrition professionals to discover, connect, meet, learn and source. SupplySide Network 365 is not a single virtual event. It is an always-on industry hub that enables you to find and connect with people, companies, ingredients, services and expertise. It includes many virtual events throughout the year, each focused on unique topics and designed to enable you to connect with other members of the SupplySide community.

Debt Investors for Food & Beverage Companies

Upside Financing
Upside Financing enables Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) businesses to take advantage of extended payment terms for their Inventory and PO purchases. In turn, this allows Brands and Manufacturers to grow at the speed of their business instead of traditional banking relationships or by resorting to dilutive equity raises. Upside was created to address major pain points our founding team of CPG executives have lived, breathed, and experienced in previous companies.

What are food & beverage startup investors called?

An angel investor (also known as a private investor, seed investor or angel funder) is a high-net-worth individual who provides financial backing for small startups or entrepreneurs, typically in exchange for ownership equity in the company. Often, angel investors are found among an entrepreneur’s family and friends.

These will be your most likely source of capital because they understand the risks associated with launching food & beverage companies which can be low margin, high risk, harder to scale compared to technology and real estate.

Together, we can make this data better, and help each other save time researching.

Please comment below who we should add, as well as any other suggestions, feedback, or revisions to this list.

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