B. Riley Financial’s Post

Upshop and Invafresh have announced their merger, marking a significant milestone in the food retail industry. Together, they aim to address significant food sector challenges: availability, affordability, and waste. The merger of Upshop and Invafresh is set to transform the landscape of food retail technology. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gtDQB7zT #FBTechNZ #FoodAndBeverageTechnologyMagazine #FoodTechnologNZ #FoodIndustry #BeverageIndustry #KiwiInnovation #FoodTech #IndustryTrends #IndustryInsights

Congratulations to our friends at San Francisco-based consumer-focused buyout private equity fund manager Encore Consumer Capital on the acquisition of Chalet Desserts in partnership with founder and CEO David Laukat and the existing management team. Chalet Desserts, based in Sacramento, CA, is a specialty manufacturer of frozen bakery desserts and baked good inclusions that are sold into the in-store bakery at #supermarkets and #convenience stores as well as #foodservice and #ingredient end-markets. The #partnership will focus on add-on acquisitions in the frozen baked goods space. Encore Consumer Capital are one of the US' leading consumer-focused private equity fund managers having raised 4 funds and over $900 million in committed capital and invested in over 40 companies in the sector. Encore Consumer Capital’s current and prior investments include food and beverage manufacturers and marketers, pet products companies, personal care/beauty companies, and food distribution companies. The firm targets companies with between $10 million and $150 million in annual revenues where Encore Consumer Capital’s strong expertise in strategy development, brand marketing, manufacturing and supply chain optimization, and distribution expansion can drive performance. It was great to spend time with the Encore Consumer Capital team in Chicago this past week and looking forward to seeing you again soon! #alternativeinvestments #privateequity #fundmanagers #buyout #consumer #frozenfood #bakedgoods #capitalmarkets #privatemarkets #chicago #sanfrancisco #acquisitions #valuecreation #desserts

The Rooster 🐓 is Calling. Private Equity x Chicken Shops. A dream combo. Last year I wrote about the greatest of all chicken shops, Chargrill Charlie's, sale to craveable brands. where it joined the likes of Red Rooster. News broke this week that craveable brands. owner PAG opened the door to a sale. Given the $196m in revenue and $27m in earnings it sent the private equity deal makers scurrying. Enter The Carlyle Group who appear to be in early discussions with management about a buy out. This follows some recent transactions in this space with Allegro Funds offloading Pizza Hut to the Flynn Group as well as Bain Capital offloading Retail Zoo in late 2022 for over $350m. Australia and takeaway has a long standing and fruitful relationship which appears to be continuing with private equity looking to ride the wave of convenience and disposable income. I expect this deal to happen given that PAG have owned craveable brands. since 2019. A nice time to exit. #privateequity #acquisition #mergersandacquisitions #corporatelaw #corporateadvisory

I am so excited to share our BIG news! Pepper has secured series B funding with a $30 million dollar investment from ICONIQ Capital. Thank you to our co-founders, Bowie Cheung, Chetan Narain & Ivana Tesanovic, as well as Andrew van Bark, for their vision & the organic approach they have to enable and future proof the independent distributor. The team that has been cultivated here at Pepper is nothing short of amazing & I am thankful every day for the opportunity to align myself with a company that cares about our industry and is invested in moving it forward. If I would have told you 3 years ago that I would be working for a startup technology company, I would’ve told you that you were crazy. But 2.5 years ago I left a 10 year successful career at Sysco foods, where I had incredible mentors like Scott Simcox, Craig L. Parker, Trey Kidd & Kristin Holt, who helped build upon my lifelong career in hospitality. They took me from knowing how to run a restaurant, to understanding how I could partner as a consultant to other restaurants & corporate businesses through distribution. My entire career has been ingrained in enabling my company, my customers & my clients with the tools they need to be successful, and here at Pepper, I get to do that on the largest scale, with the best technology. Our technology is being developed every day in partnership with our clients, and is next level, game changing & industry proofing our incredible partners in independent distribution. At Pepper, I have the opportunity to work with some industry leading partners at Palmer Food Services, Schiff's Food Service, Inc., Ginsberg's Foods, Quirch Foods, JFS/Curtze, Ferraro Foods, GS Foods Group, A.F. WENDLING, INC., A&G Meats, Bermuda General Agency and Pitt & Company, Food Supply, Inc., GLACIER WHOLESALERS INC, Halsey Foodservice, Inc., Jacmar Foodservice Distribution, J E Hicks Distributing Co, Legacy Food Group, Regional Distributors, Inc., Sanwa Growers, Inc, Siegel Egg Co., LLC and so many others. I am proud of what has been built here in 4.5 years with 200+ clients, and even more excited about what we can do with $30 million dollars from an incredible partner in ICONIQ Capital, as well as current clients of Pepper who whole-heartedly believe in our vision and what we are building to enable their success.  Keep your eye on Pepper, because we have only just begun, and the future is so incredibly bright.

As we approach the end of Q1 2024, here are 10 CPG companies to watch out for in 2024: PRIME, Rviita Inc., Mid-Day Squares, Forged Irish Stout, Furocity Energy, OLIPOP PBC, Partake Foods, Golde, Blueland and Snoop Dogg’s Broadus Food. Read our latest post about these CPG companies at https://lnkd.in/dKWHbzzT #cpg #consumergoods #startups #businesses

☕ Brewing Success: Specialty Coffee Chains Perk Up VC Interest, Surpassing D2C Players! 🚀💰 Specialty coffee chains outpacing D2C players without a retail presence in VC interest. 2023 marked a significant year for coffee chains, with two startups securing substantial funding. Indian specialty coffee cafés raised nearly $100 million in VC over the last two years, compared to $22 million in the previous four years. The cost of café capital expenditure has decreased, attracting more investors. #equityresearch #coffee #venturecapital #privateequity #stockmarketindia #finance #linkedin

Happy Monday Everyone!   We are already over 2/3 of the way through January – crazy, right?! It’s also National Polka Dot Day, so break out your best “spotty” outfit and take your Dalmatians for a long walk.    Attached is the Deal Tracker for January 15 – 21. As a reminder, it includes all notable U.S. CPG Corporate M&A, LBO, Growth Equity and Venture Capital activity for the prior week. Send me a direct message if you want the Microsoft Excel version.   A few highlights from the week:   1.  Compass Diversified Acquires Personal Care Brand The Honey Pot in a deal valued at $380 Million. That represents a valuation of over 3x Revenue and over 13x Normalized 2023 EBITDA.   https://lnkd.in/eTX5abQn   2.  Bloom Nutrition Raises $90MM of Growth Equity Capital from Nutrabolt, Amberstone and Clayton Christopher.   https://lnkd.in/eRrFxqVK   3.  Yeti Coolers Announces the Planned Acquistion of Butter Pat Industries.   https://lnkd.in/eF7Spejz   4.  MPearlRock, The New Joint Venture Between Kroger and MidOcean Partners Completes the Acquistion of Nutpods.   https://lnkd.in/ekCM4HBR   5.  F&S Produce Company Announces the Acquisition of Renaissance Food Group in a Deal Valued at $100 Million.   https://lnkd.in/eEYhH_E2  

https://lnkd.in/gYqWSPdc Demand from major investors saw GYG boost the shares being sold in the float offer from $242.5 million to $335.1 million. Of this cash raised, $200 million is being invested by the company in further expansion, with the remaining $135 million representing investors selling down their stakes. The proceeds of the float will go towards boosting the Mexican chain’s growth in Australia. It hopes to open 30 new restaurants in the 2025 financial year and eventually have more than 1000 restaurants in the next 20 years, which would put it on par with McDonald’s. Incredible result - Investors showing extraordinary faith in this brands ability to conquer the US The US Fast Food & Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) market. US market size was valued at USD 293.8 Billion in 2021 and it is projected to reach around USD 454.3 Billion by 2030. Retail Doctor Group

By integrating advanced AI into the food supply chain, GrubMarket Inc. reduces waste, minimizes environmental impact, and facilitates equitable access to resources. The recent acquisition of Butter, a SaaS platform for digitizing food distribution strengthens their ability to make that chance. Their recent streak of acquisitions of produce suppliers and software solutions helped them land a second consecutive appearance on the CNBC Disruptor 50 list. We’re proud to see this Moonshots syndicate investment make a meaningful difference! https://lnkd.in/ect6mChw #FoodTech #Sustainability #AI #Acquisitions #GlobalGrowth #SupplyChain #FoodDistribution #Disruption #Innovation #Equity #Leadership #StrategicMoves #DigitalTransformation #VentureCapital #StartupSuccess