Investing

Mondelez’s incubator and investment arm SnackFutures has recently undergone a staffing change, with former PepsiCo investment executive Tapan Shah joining the group last month to head up investing for the snack-focused conglomerate.

Twenty years after inception, investor 2X Growth Partners is shaking things up in a continued effort to help CPG brands reach new heights. The group announced yesterday its name was changing to Loft Growth Partners, a moniker it says better expresses the firm’s operating practices. The change comes as the firm also announced the close of its third fund.

Today snacking and confection powerhouse Mondelēz International announced it was acquiring Hu Master Holdings, the parent company of Hu Products. In 2019 Mondelēz took a minority stake in the company, which included a right of first refusal to acquire the company in an eventual sale. Hu will operate as a separate business, continuing to produce all products at current manufacturing facilities.

For GoodFish, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, things are going swimmingly. The company announced today it had closed $4 million in funding in a round led by Siddhi Capital.

After spending almost a quarter of a century at General Mills, Pete Speranza wants to “change the food system.” The former business development principal at 301 Inc, General Mills’ venture arm, left the company on August 14 and will join venture firm Unovis as an operating partner.

As special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) targeting the CPG sector have experienced a sudden surge in interest this year, Clayton Christopher is the latest food and beverage industry veteran to join the party.

Kirsty Lewis officially has two tweens on her hands — both her son and the snack company named after him, Quinn turn ten this week. With one decade in business under its belt, the company announced today the close of $3 million in funding, in part to help further launch its newest releases, grain-free and gluten-free pretzels.

It’s not just what you sell that makes or breaks a brand, but where you sell it. That’s the thesis behind venture firm Coefficient Capital, which last week announced it had raised $170 million for its first fund. Coefficient’s two founding partners include Franklin Isacson, formerly of Verlinvest and UBS, and technology adviser and investor Andrew Goletka

Leading food and beverage fund VMG is moving from investor to operator with the launch of a new corporate entity that will acquire, run, and create snack brands. Velocity Snack Brands (VSB) kicks off today with the acquisition of salty snack brand Popchips; the company will be led by Amit Pandhi, the former CEO of frozen treat brand Arctic Zero.

Venture firm PowerPlant Ventures announced yesterday the close of its second fund. At over three times the size of its predecessor, Fund II, which closed at $165 million, will allow the company to further refine its deal structure, co-founder and partner Mark Rampolla told NOSH. He added that the firm “[wants] to change this mindset that capital only cares about return.”