Two-Part Harmony, April 2024
The purists have had their shot. Now it’s the pragmatists’ turn. For all the virtues of plant-only diets, Americans — the largest prospective market for alternative proteins — aren’t convinced. Gallup reports that only 1% of Americans claim to be vegan. Another 4% label themselves vegetarian, down from 6% in 2001. There simply aren’t enough self-professed plant eaters to achieve the lofty climate, animal welfare and nutritional goals that activists envision.
Green Circle whitepaper quoted in Nosh: Are Plant-Protein’s ‘High’ Costs Overstated?, 3-5-2024
Investors focused on plant-based protein are pitching a new way to assess the expenses of non-animal protein sources: the actual cost per gram of protein. A new report by Green Circle Capital Advisors is arguing that perception around plant-based protein costs being higher than their animal-based counterparts is inaccurate once you consider the actual protein content of meats and dairy products.
Green Circle event covered in Forbes: Is New York City The New Hub For Food Tech?, 04-12-2022
On Thursday, April 28th the Cornell Tech Campus on Roosevelt Island, New York will play host to the Green Circle NY-Israel FoodTech Bridge Conference. The event commingles major food companies and vendors with investors and scientists in the space, with a specific emphasis on industry innovation in the United States as well as Israel. Although it’s not widely known among the general population, the event is a pretty big deal. Just ask New York City mayor Eric Adams.
Investing in Plant-Based Brands, 12-02-2021
Green Circle’s Stu Strumwasser moderates an all-star investor panel on investing in plant-based brands at Nosh Winter Live 2021. The panel included Robert Brown, Founder, Encore Consumer; Bryan Kreske, GM Hormel Foods Venturing and Incubator Unit; Joe Rhodes, Partner, Hummingbird Equity Partners; and Roy Chin, Principal, North Castle Partners.
Bakley Smith’s whitepaper published in Nutraceutical Business Review: Turning the Corner: Practitioner Channel for Supplements Offers Growth and Value, 10-15-2021
The practitioner channel, as traditionally defined, is a sales route for dietary supplements wherein the seller (or retailer) is a practicing doctor, nutritionist or other accredited healthcare practitioner. These products, although sold through the practitioner channel, are still regulated by the US FDA as dietary supplements and are not FDA-approved as pharmaceuticals:
Green Circle’s Stu Strumwasser appears on “Category Close-up, Plant-Based Milks and Creamers – Expert Analysis,” with Bevnet Managing Editor, Martin Caballero, November 10, 2020
Stu joins a panel with other notable experts on plant-based dairy alternatives. If you are a Bevnet/Nosh subscriber, click the image below to watch:
Green Circle restaurant white paper (Part 1) featured in QSRmagazine.com, August 4, 2020
Green Circle restaurant white paper (Part 2) featured in QSRmagazine.com, August 12, 2020
Dining in the Time of Corona (Navigating the Post-COVID-19 Restaurant Industry for Investors and Operators)
We are living in a time of unprecedented change in the economy and in the world at large, and nowhere is that more evident than in the restaurant industry. At Green Circle Capital, our professionals know, from decades of experience, that out of every crisis also comes innovation and opportunity.
Green Circle’s Stu Strumwasser appears on “Office Hours,” with Bevnet Editor-In-Chief, Jeff Klineman, August 18, 2020
Stu joins a panel with Farah Khan, Managing Director with L Catterton and Alison Minter, Managing Director with North Castle Partners to discuss Food & Bev investing, valuation, and other related trends.
If you are a Bevnet/Nosh subscriber, click the image below to watch the interview:
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Green Circle’s Bakley Smith on M&A activity in the supplement industry, July 10, 2019
Gauging supplement M&A activity
Valued at $46 billion in 2018, the U.S. supplement industry continues to thrive—a factor that likely influenced a variety of strategic M&A investments in recent years.
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Green Circle mentioned in Washington Post pasta article, print 6-22-2019
Why America is embracing the widening world of non-wheat pastas
“If it’s not made out of wheat, it’s not pasta.”
That was fresh-pasta specialist Peter Robertson’s response when the patrons at his farmers market stand began requesting gluten-free options in the mid-2000s. Today, he can’t help laughing as he admits that most of his business, RP’s Pasta Company and a spinoff, Taste Republic, is now gluten-free.
Green Circle’s Stu Strumwasser in Foodnavigator-usa.com, May 2, 2019
Protein…. Where’s The Beef?
These days, as I travel through the offices of natural products CEOs and investors, and grocery aisles, and trade show booths at Expos North, South, East and West, I find myself constantly informed of the protein content in food and beverage products. Do you also notice this trend accelerating?
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Green Circle in The Wall Street Journal on Beverage Innovation, 8-28-2018
Money is pouring into developing beverages that claim to do much more than quench thirst. A lot of that funding ends up going down the drain.
Conglomerates and startups alike are placing bets on “enhanced” drinks that promise everything from better sleep to a more youthful complexion. While sales of such drinks are rising—up 11% in the past year to $3 billion, according to market-research firm Spins—hundreds of new ones are launched each year, and the majority peter out within a couple of years. Finding success involves the right mix of funding, taste, health claims and luck:
Green Circle in Nutraceutical Business Review on Degradation of Active Ingredients 08-07-2018
Degradation of vitamins, probiotics and other active ingredients caused by exposure to heat, water and sunlight
Vitamins and probiotics (and other active ingredients) can be substantially affected by exposure to heat, water and/or sunlight. The nutritional value of such ingredients can degrade when exposed. Therefore, maintaining the viability (and consistency — along with accurate label claims) of these nutritional components in food and beverage products, from the time of production to the time of consumption, can be challenging.
Green Circle in Nutra Ingredients USA on M&A Activity, 12-14-2017
M&A activity likely to stay hot in 2018, report says…
M&A activity in the dietary supplement realm is unlikely to slow down anytime soon, according to a new report from an investment firm.
Stu Strumwasser in Merger Market on Cold Brew Coffee, 6-12-2018
High Brew Coffee’s latest fundraising could be its last, CEO says
High Brew Coffee, a venture capital-backed producer of branded canned cold-brew coffees, may not need to raise further capital following its most recent raise, said CEO David Smith. On 18 May, the Austin, Texas-based company secured USD 20m from Charles Street Partners, according to a report by the Austin American-Statesman. That brings the total raised to nearly USD 50m, based on figures from securities filings.
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Green Circle in Beverage Business Insights on Gloe Brands, 5-4-2018
How Gloe Brands is Navigating Coke System Refranchising
How do you build a national brand when your national DSD partner — Coca-Cola North America — is undertaking its own tumultuous distribution transition? That has been among key challenges confronting Gloe Brands as it navigates rollout with Coca-Cola bottling network that just concluded massive refranchising effort, as KO — an investor in Gloe via its VEB venture arm — devolves responsibility for local activities to network of indie partners.
What’s My Valuation? (by Stu Strumwasser, as seen in Bevnet.com & Projectnosh.com, 3-part series)
Part I: Evaluating Valuation
A classic…
As an investment banker in the Consumer space (focused on natural products) who often talks with the CEOs and owners of early-stage and growth-stage companies I am frequently asked, “What’s my valuation?” My short answer is: “Whatever the market will bear.” It rarely satisfies.
