#173 - The Food Investors: Capital for Emerging CPGs

The Startup CPG Podcast · 10 Dec 2024 · 59m · Episode 101

What this episode covers

Host Daniel Scharff moderates a panel of CPG investors Greer Tessler (Simple Food Ventures), Daniel Faierman (Habitat Partners), Carolyn Simmons (Melitas Ventures), and Andrew Reynolds (RCV Frontline) to discuss the current fundraising landscape for early-stage food brands. The investors detail realistic valuation ranges for pre-seed and seed rounds, emphasizing that gross margins must exceed 35% to justify investment in the current climate. They highlight key trends such as protein enrichment, clean-label baby foods, and sugar reduction, while advising founders to bootstrap as long as possible and leverage founder networks for introductions rather than cold outreach.

Mentioned

Companies
Simple Food Ventures, Habitat Partners, Melitas Ventures, RCV Frontline, Red Antler, Erewhon, Whole Foods, Kroger, Walmart, Albertsons
Products
Olipop, Magic Spoon, MezClub, Happy Love Snacks, Nikigo, Recoup Beverage, Huxley, Lexington Bakes, Happy Candy, Payoa

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