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NCN News: November 25

November 25, 2020

Three years after taking a minority stake in the brand, candy bar maker Mars acquired Kind North America. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but media outlets reported Kind’s valuation at around $5 billion.

NCN News: November 11

November 11, 2020

Kaffe Bueno (Copenhagen, Denmark), a startup that upcycles coffee grounds into ingredients for personal care, supplement and functional food products, has secured €1.1 million (about $1.3 million) in seed funding.

NCN News: October 28

October 28, 2020

With the goal of optimizing algae to create a more sustainable world, Provectus (Noosa, Queensland, Australia) has secured $3.25 million in seed funding. The biotech company developed technology to grow algae at scale for various industries.

NCN News: October 14

October 14, 2020

Verizon Ventures, Microsoft’s M12 Ventures and other investors are betting big on technology that aims to bring a digital experience to brick-and-mortar shopping—and give brands another avenue to advertise.

NCN News: September 16

September 16, 2020

Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund led a $20 million funding round for Virtual Kitchen (San Francisco, California), a startup that empowers restaurants to focus on delivery and minimize real estate costs. Founded in 2018 by two former Uber executives, Virtual Kitchen provides technology for restaurants to set up virtual or cloud kitchens that are optimized for delivery and don't have dining rooms or storefronts.

NCN News: September 2

September 2, 2020

With the COVID-19 pandemic driving more U.S. food shoppers online, Barn2Door (Seattle, Washington) sees a big opportunity for farmers. The startup has raised $6 million for its e-commerce software that helps farmers sell food directly to consumers, with functions for managing sales, inventory and logistics.

NCN News: August 19

August 19, 2020

What if people with food allergies carried a sensor that could detect the presence of allergens in their food? That’s the premise of Allergy Amulet (Lowell, Massachusetts), which announced a $3.3 million seed round led by Titletown Tech, a partnership between the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft.

NCN News: August 3

August 3, 2020

Food safety and quality services company FoodChain ID (Fairfield, Iowa) expanded its portfolio with the purchase of Nutraveris (Ploufragan, France). Nutraveris is an AI-based software and services provider that helps supplement, pharmaceutical, personal care and ingredient manufacturers get their products approved and launched.

NCN News: July 21

July 21, 2020

European investors Creandum and Highland Europe led a $15 million series A for Meditopia (Istanbul, Turkey, and Berlin, Germany), a meditation app built primarily for non-English-speaking markets. The startup works with mental health professionals in different regions of the world to develop mindfulness, meditation and music content that’s specific to different cultures, languages and countries.

NCN News: July 7

July 7, 2020

Past NCN presenter Kitu Life (New York, New York), which operates the Super Coffee brand, has closed a $25 million financing round led by Skyview Capital. Founded by three brothers in a college dorm room, Super Coffee makes a lineup of ready-to-drink coffee beverages that contain up to 10 grams of protein and are sweetened with monk fruit. It also sells coffee creamer, coffee pods and espresso drinks.

NCN News: June 23

June 23, 2020

Chocolate bar maker Honey Mama’s (Portland, Oregon), known for its innovative flavors, has completed a $5.8 million fundraise to boost sales, distribution and marketing beyond the natural channel. Founded in 2011, Honey Mama’s crafts truffle-like chocolate bars from raw honey, coconut oil, cocoa powder and other whole-food ingredients.

NCN News: June 10

June 10, 2020

The husband and wife behind Shaka Tea (Hilo, Hawaii) have $2.3 million of fresh capital to help their company grow. Shaka Tea, a past NCN presenter, taps into Hawaii’s native mamaki plant to power its line of ready-to-drink iced teas, which are sweetened with monk fruit and free of calories, carbs, sugar and caffeine.

NCN News: May 27

May 27, 2020

Chef-owned and -operated spice company Spiceology (Spokane, Washington) has raised $2 million from investors including media company Cowles Co. and Kickstart Funds III & IV. The capital will help Spiceology ramp up marketing efforts and weather the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, company leaders told a local news outlet.

NCN News: May 13

May 13, 2020

Mr. Lee’s, a United Kingdom-based instant noodle brand that launched in the United States last month (Santa Monica, California), has raised £1.75 million ($2.2 million on May 4) on the equity crowdfunding platform Seedrs. That brings its total to £6.5 million ($8.1 million on May 4) raised so far in four rounds of fundraising on the platform.

NCN News: April 14

April 14, 2020

On a mission to replace packaging materials that harm the environment, Vericool (Livermore, California) has raised $19.1 million from Radicle Impact Partners, The Ecosystem Integrity Fund, ID8 Investments and AiiM Partners. Vericool created an alternative to plastic foam coolers that’s made from recycled paper fibers and other plant-based materials.

NCN News: April 2

April 2, 2020

The food tech company once known as Sustainable Bioproducts is now Nature’s Fynd (Chicago, Illinois), and it’s equipped with $80 million in fresh funding from investors. Grown out of NASA-supported research, Nature’s Fynd used a protein-rich microorganism discovered at Yellowstone National Park to develop a fermentation process that results in a sustainable, animal-free protein containing all nine essential amino acids.

NCN News: March 24

March 24, 2020

PepsiCo (Harrison, New York) has added to its energy-drink portfolio by acquiring Rockstar Energy (Las Vegas, Nevada) in a $3.85 billion deal that’s expected to close in the first half of the year. PepsiCo has had a distribution deal with Rockstar since 2009. Its current energy drink lineup includes Mountain Dew-branded AMP, Kickstart and GameFuel.

NCN News: March 2

March 2, 2020

Madhava Foods, a seller of natural sweetener products such as honey, agave and coconut sugar, has acquired organic candy company JJ’s Sweets. The deal between the two Boulder, Colorado-based companies is intended to boost distribution and sales growth for JJ’s and its line of organic, dairy-free coconut caramels called Cocomels.

February 4, 2020

Investors started 2020 doubling down on the plant- and cell-based protein revolution challenging the mainstream meat, seafood and dairy industries. In 2019, meat-alternative tech firms ranked among the largest deals in the NCN Transaction Database, with Impossible Foods closing a $300 million Series E for its plant-based substitutes and Beyond Meat’s IPO raising $241 million.

December 6, 2020

Manna Tree Partners was the anchor investor in a $12.7 million Series C funding round in food technology company Nutriati (Richmond, Virginia). Open Prairie, an existing investor through the Open Prairie Rural Opportunities Fund, also participated. Nutriati uses proprietary processing technology to make protein, flour and oil ingredients from pulses like beans, peas, lentils and chickpeas.

January 8, 2020

Nutrition Capital Network (NCN) had to wait until the end of the year to enter 2019’s biggest deal into the NCN Transaction Database—a blockbuster merger between International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF) and DuPont Inc.’s nutrition and biosciences unit. IFF is merging with the $26.2 billion DuPont unit in a deal valuing the combined company at $45.4 billion.

December 3, 2019

Personalized nutrition has yet to go mainstream, but transactions in November indicate the concept is continuing to gather momentum as financial and strategic investors get behind deals.

November 26, 2019

Hundred (Berlin, Germany), a personalized vitamin subscription company, has announced an $8 million investment from Insight Partners. The direct-to-consumer supplement service creates a custom mix based on a five-minute consultation taking into account nutrition, movement, sleep and stress.

November 12, 2019

Mooala (Dallas, Texas), maker of organic dairy-free beverages, has completed an $8.3 million Series A equity financing led by Sweat Equities, bringing its total funding since launch to more than $13 million. Mooala is sold in over 2,500 stores nationwide including Whole Foods Market, Safeway, Kroger and Costco, and says it will increase its footprint to 3,500 stores by January.

November 5, 2019

Deals in the CBD wellness category again dominated natural products transactions, followed by healthy snacking in the food category. Opportunity in CBD wellness products motivated two sports nutrition deals in October, while Kraft Heinz took its first step into the quickly evolving cannabis space with a tech investment.

October 29, 2019

Flowhub (Denver, Colorado), a retail management platform for cannabis dispensaries, has raised an oversubscribed $23 million Series A financing led by the Kraft Heinz investment arm Evolv Ventures, e.ventures and Poseidon. Described as one of the largest Series A rounds in the cannabis tech industry, the investment will be used to position Flowhub as the software model of choice for cannabis retailers.

October 13, 2019

Post Holdings’ (St. Louis, Missouri) newly formed subsidiary BellRing Brands Inc. has launched a roadshow for its initial public offering of approximately 24 percent of its ownership. The IPO is expected to generate up to $570 million. BellRing will compete in the “global convenient nutrition category” and is a holding company for Post’s Active Nutrition business, notably the Premier Protein, Dymatize and PowerBar brands.

October 1, 2019

Organic ingredients and other nutritional attributes were the focus of investment and acquisitions in the baby food category in September. Chinese dairy giant Mengniu Dairy made a AU$1.5 billion (US$1 billion) cash offer for the Australian infant formula brand Bellamy’s Organic.

September 24, 2019

Celsius Holdings Inc. (Boca Raton, Florida), maker of the Celsius fitness drink, is acquiring nutritional products marketer Func Food Group Oyj (Helsinki, Finland) for approximately $15.1 million in cash and the assumption of $9.5 million of debt.

September 10, 2019

Nestlé Health Science (NHSc, Lausanne, Switzerland) is expanding into personalized nutrition by acquiring Persona (Snoqualmie, Washington), a company that offers customized nutritional assessments and dietary supplements online.

September 3, 2019

Healthier snacking remained a strong investment theme in August. High protein nutrition bars were the focus, with The Simply Good Foods Company bringing Quest Nutrition LLC under its umbrella for $1 billion in cash. Quest becomes stable mate to the iconic Atkins brand and is expected to generate about $345 million in net sales in calendar year 2019, 68 percent from bars.

August 13, 2019

Cannabis products company Dixie Brands Inc. (Denver, Colorado) and iced tea brand Arizona Beverages (Woodbury, New York) are partnering to develop cannabis-infused products with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

August 8, 2019

U.S. shoppers are making more room in their baskets for plant-based foods, according to new SPINS retail data released by the Plant Based Foods Association and The Good Food Institute. Sales of plant-based foods that directly replace animal products grew 11% to $4.5 billion in natural and conventional grocery channels in the year to April 21, 2019; since April 2017, sales have increased 31%.

July 23, 2019

AeroFarms (Newark, New Jersey) has raised a $100 million Series E led by the venture capital arm of Ingka Group, parent company of Ikea, according to Financial Times. The automated indoor farm will use the investment to expand warehouse space and grow more types of produce.

July 9, 2019

Gathered Foods, maker of the Good Catch (Newtown, Pennsylvania) brand of plant-based seafood products, has closed a $10 million convertible note round co-led by New Crop Capital and Stray Dog Capital, according to Forbes. Good Catch previously announced an $8.7 million Series A funding round in August 2018 led by New Crop Capital.

July 3, 2019

As public awareness of plastic pollution gathers steam and big brands commit to reducing plastic waste, investors are backing more ecologically sensitive packaging solutions like bioplastics and molded pulp.

June 26, 2019

Mondelēz International (Deerfield, Illinois), owner of Oreo, Belvita and Cadbury, is acquiring a majority interest in Perfect Snacks (San Diego, California), maker of refrigerated organic nutrition bars.

June 4, 2019

On the heels of Beyond Meat’s soaring IPO, which raised $241 million to expand its meat-alternative business, Impossible Foods followed with a $300 million Series E round to ramp up production. Temasek and Horizons Ventures led the financing, bringing the company’s total raised to $750 million.

May 26, 2019

Impossible Foods (Redwood City, California), maker of plant-based meat alternatives, announced $300 million in Series E funding led by existing investors Temasek and Horizons Ventures.

May 14, 2019

Sprizzi Drink-Co. (Colton, California), maker of an eco-friendly beverage dispenser, announced a $100 million investment initiative by the government of Rugao, China.

May 8, 2019

The NCN Transaction Database tracked half the number of dietary supplement acquisitions in 2018 compared to the prior year.

April 30, 2019

Campbell Soup Company (Camden, New Jersey) is selling Bolthouse Farms to an affiliate of Butterfly Equity for $510 million.

April 17, 2019

Danone SA (Paris, France) is selling Earthbound Farm, its U.S. organic salads business, to family-owned Taylor Farms (Salinas, California), a salads and fresh foods company.

April 4, 2019

Mondelēz made its first venture investment under its SnackFutures innovation and venture hub in March. The global snack and candy giant—owner of Oreo, Triscuit and Trident—made a minority investment in Uplift Food, a functional food start-up focused on the “mood-supportive benefits” of prebiotics.

NCN Press Release on 2018 Transaction Database Report

Each year Nutrition Capital Network tracks and compiles M&A activity in the health & nutrition arena. Read more about how 2018 compared to years past and where the financing activity took place.

March 26, 2019

DSM and Phynova collaborate on blood glucose ingredient

DSM (Heerlen, Netherlands) and life science company Phynova (Oxford, United Kingdom) have signed a global distribution and collaboration agreement for Reducose, a patented natural ingredient for healthy blood glucose levels. Reducose is a water extract of
white mulberry leaves that can be added to food and beverages or taken as a small supplement to reduce the impact on the body of high-glycemic sugars and other carbohydrates.

March 12, 2019

Moringa company gets second investment from Kellogg

Kuli Kuli (Oakland, California), a pioneer of the superfood moringa, has closed a $5 million Series B financing led by global product development company Griffith Foods and Eighteen94 capital, Kellogg’s venture capital fund. Other investors included InvestEco, S2G Ventures, Authentic Ventures, VilCap Investments and Rocana Venture Partners. Kuli Kuli plans to launch a new moringa ingredient business while scaling up its moringa powder, bars and shots business.

March 8, 2019

This month's Nutrition Capital Network Deal Download shows a high number of transactions in pet food, alternative proteins and healthy foods.

NCN presenter update February was a big month for past NCN Presenting Companies, headlined by Manitoba Harvest being acquired by cannabis company Tilray Inc. from The Compass Group and other shareholders for up to CA$419 million (US$316.3 million on Feb. 20). Vertically integrated Manitoba Harvest sells hemp seeds, oil, granola, protein powder, and milk alternatives, generating CA$94 million (US$68.9 million on Jan. 2) in gross revenue in 2018.

February 26, 2019

Hormel Foods (Austin, Minnesota) is selling its CytoSport business, including Muscle Milk protein drinks, to PepsiCo for $465 million in cash. Hormel acquired CytoSport Holdings in 2014 from the Pickett family and TSG Consumer Partners for approximately $450 million to expand Hormel’s portfolio of protein-rich foods and serve as a growth catalyst for its Specialty Foods segment; CytoSport had annual sales of around $370 million at the time.

February 12, 2019

Unilever (London, United Kingdom and Rotterdam, Netherlands) has acquired Graze (London, United Kingdom), the United Kingdom’s largest healthy snack brand, from The Carlyle Group. The purchase price was not disclosed, but Sky News reported Graze was acquired for £150 million ($195.9 million on Feb. 5). Graze was founded in 2008 as a snack-box delivery service and sells bars, packaged nuts and seeds, dips and other snacks at retail and online.

February 8, 2019

Nutrition Capital Network reports 942 transactions in 2018

The NCN Transaction Database recorded a total of 942 transactions in the Nutrition and Health & Wellness Industry in 2018, up 3 percent for the year as deals slowed from blistering pace of the past four years. “Given the steep annual growth rates that averaged almost 40 percent annually from 2014 to 2017, it’s hardly surprising that the industry has not sustained that velocity,” said Grant Ferrier, managing director of Nutrition Capital Network (NCN). “But it’s still impressive that 2018 exceeded 2017’s record numbers.”

January 29, 2019

Laird Superfood (Sisters, Oregon) has secured $32 million in a private funding round that included WeWork, the shared workspace company. This round will support product development, acquisitions and headquarters expansion. Laird Superfood and WeWork will also launch a partnership to make Laird foods available to WeWork members and employees.

January 8, 2019

In December, Tivity Health Inc., a provider of fitness and health improvement programs and owner of the SilverSneakers brand, announced it was buying Nutrisystem Inc. for $1.3 billion in cash and stock. Nutrisystem sells portion-controlled meals and weight loss services, and owns the South Beach Diet and DNA BodyBlueprint brands.

December 20, 2018

Tivity Health Inc. (Nashville, Tennessee), a provider of health and fitness programs, is buying Nutrisystem Inc. (Fort Washington, Pennsylvania) for $1.3 billion in cash and stock. Tivity Health generated revenue of $453.3 million for the nine months ending Sept. 30, from
programs including SilverSneakers, Prime Fitness, WholeHealth Living and flip50. Nutrisystem owns Nutrisystem weight loss products and services, the South Beach Diet and DNA BodyBlueprint, generating revenue of $561.5 million for the nine-month period.

December 11, 2018

The Kraft Heinz Company (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is acquiring Primal Nutrition LLC (Oxnard, California), maker of Primal Kitchen branded products, for approximately $200 million. Expected to generate approximately $50 million in net sales this year, Primal Kitchen is a better-for-you brand of condiments,sauces, dressings and avocado oil, as well as protein powders and snack bars.

November 30, 2018

It’s been a busy year for initial public offerings, with global markets expected to number more than 200 in 2018 driven by biotech, tech and Chinese offerings, according to IPO expert Renaissance Capital. Outside of medicinal cannabis and internet food delivery, few companies associated with the nutrition and health & wellness industry have gone public this year, so November was unusual in seeing two IPO announcements added to the NCN Transaction Database.

November 26, 2018

Post Holdings Inc. (St. Louis, Missouri) has announced an initial public offering to establish its Active Nutrition division as a “pure-play, high growth companywith strategic flexibility to pursue strong organic and M&A opportunities.” Active nutrition houses ready-to-drink protein beverages, protein powders, nutrition bars and nutritional supplements under the Premier Protein, Dymatize, PowerBar, Supreme Protein and Joint Juice brands.

October 31, 2018

Glanbia PLC is buying SlimFast and certain supplement brands from Kainos Capital for $350 million, adding the iconic weight-loss brand to its Performance Nutrition division, which houses Optimum Nutrition, BSN, Isopure, Amazing Grass and the weight-loss snack thinkThin.

November 13, 2018

Publicly traded Flowers Foods Inc. (Thomasville, Georgia) is acquiring Canyon Bakehouse LLC (Johnstown, Colorado), a gluten-free baking company, forapproximately $205 million. Canyon Bakehouse offers 21 gluten-free breads, buns, bagels, English muffins and specialty items, and is expected to generate sales of approximately $70 million to $80 million in 2019.

October 30, 2018

Kite Hill (Hayward, California), a maker of dairy alternatives made with nut milk, announced a $40 million capital round led by 301 INC, General Mills’ venture unit, with CAVU Venture Partners participating.

October 16, 2018

Glanbia PLC (Kilkenny, Ireland) is buying SlimFast (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida) and certain supplement brands for $350 million from Kainos Capital...

September 30, 2018

Functional water, kombucha and coffee populated the beverage deals tracked by Nutrition Capital Network’s (NCN) Transaction Database in September. Keurig Dr Pepper agreed to acquire allied brand partner Core Nutrition LLC for $525 million...

September 25, 2018

The Coca-Cola Company (Atlanta, Georgia.) has acquired Organic & Raw Trading Co. (Willunga, South Australia), maker of the Mojo brand of naturally fermented organic kombucha drinks...

NCN News for August 31, 2018

August 31, 2018

According to the NCN Transaction Database, beverages dominated the top 10 financing transactions in the Branded Food & Beverage segment during the first half of 2018…

NCN News for August 26, 2018

August 26, 2018

Recent transactions in the nutrition and health & wellness industry…

NCN News for August 14, 2018

August 14, 2018

Recent transactions in the nutrition and health & wellness industry…

July 31, 2018

Recent transactions in the nutrition and health & wellness industry Natural ingredient deals As the global colors, flavors and fragrances industry responds to consumer demand for natural…

July 24, 2018

Recent transactions in the nutrition and health & wellness industry Sensient Technologies acquires Mazza Innovation’s botanical extract technology Sensient Technologies (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) has acquired Mazza Innovation Ltd.…

July 10, 2018

Recent transactions in the global nutrition and health & wellness industry ADM acquires probiotics brand and contract manufacturer Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM, Chicago, Illinois) is…

July 3, 2018

Recent transactions in the nutrition and health & wellness industry Corporate venture deals About half of the top 50 global food and beverage companies have set up...

June 12, 2018

Recent transactions in the nutrition and health & wellness industry Owner of Vita Coco acquires RUNA natural energy drinks All Market Inc. (AMI, Framingham, Massachusetts), the maker…

NCN News for June 12, 2018

June 12, 2018

Recent transactions in the nutrition and health & wellness industry Clearly Kombucha acquired by Molson Coors Molson Coors (Denver, Colorado) has acquired Clearly Kombucha (Fairfield, California),…

Deal Download: May 2018

June 5, 2018

Ingredient deals Global players in the flavors and fragrances industry are trying to adapt as food and beverage clients demand more organic, natural and functional products to…

NCN News for May 22, 2018

May 22, 2018

Recent transactions in the nutrition and health & wellness industry Good Eggs secures $50 million for California expansion Good Eggs (San Francisco, California), the online grocer and…

NCN News for May 9, 2018

May 9, 2018

Recent transactions in the global nutrition and health & wellness industry Frutarom acquisition will boost IFF’s standing in natural ingredients After making 39 acquisitions in the…

Deal Download: April 2018

April 30, 2018

Natural pet food deals In the wake of General Mills’ acquisition of Blue Buffalo Pet Products for about $8 billion in February, The J.M. Smucker Company announced…

NCN News for April 24, 2018

April 24, 2018

Recent Transactions in the Nutrition and Health & Wellness Industry P&G to acquire Merck consumer-health business, including European supplement brands The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G, Cincinnati,…

NCN News for April 10, 2018

April 10, 2018

Recent Transactions in the Nutrition and Health & Wellness Industry Campbell creates accelerator unit to drive growth, including Campbell Fresh Campbell Soup Company (Camden, New Jersey) announced…

Commentary: Nutranext brings Clorox more than supplements

April 3, 2018

Over the last year, large strategic and financial investors have invested richly in the dietary supplement industry. Private equity giant KKR acquired The Nature’s Bounty Co. in…

Deal Download: March 2018

April 3, 2018

Some of the best-known brands in the natural retail channel changed hands last year with the acquisitions of The Nature’s Bounty Co. by KKR, Nutraceutical International by…

NCN News for March 27, 2018

March 27, 2018

Recent Transactions in the Nutrition and Health & Wellness Industry Spindrift sparkling water completes $20 million funding Spindrift (Newton, Massachusetts), a sparkling water flavored with real…

NCN News for March 13, 2018

March 13, 2018

Clorox announces agreement to acquire supplement company Nutranext The Clorox Company (Oakland, California) will acquire Nutranext (Sunrise, Florida), a vertically integrated manufacturer and marketer of dietary supplement…

Deal Download: January 2018

January 29, 2018

The nutrition and health and wellness industry saw a 27 percent increase in transaction activity in 2017, with the number of mergers and acquisitions up 37 percent…

NCN News for January 26, 2018

January 26, 2018

Cargill invests in PURIS pea protein production Cargill (Minneapolis, Minn.) has signed a joint venture agreement with Minneapolis-based PURIS (formerly World Food Processing), a family owned company…

NCN News for January 16, 2018

January 16, 2018

Enterome secures €32 million Series D financing and EIB loan Enterome SA (Paris, France and Cambridge, Mass.), a clinical-stage biotech company pioneering therapies to treat microbiome-associated diseases,…

NCN News