Food and beverage VC firm grows fund to expand portfolio, starting with digestive health beverage Olipop.

March 14, 2019

2 Min Read
Boulder Food Group
Boulder Food Group

Boulder Food Group (BFG), the investment firm known for partnering with innovative and socially conscious food, beverage, and supplement brands, closed its second fund, BFG Fund II.

The fund came in oversubscribed at more than $100 million with no placement agent used, the firm announced in February. Crunchbase, an investment-tracking company based in San Francisco, California, reported that BFG raised $103.3 million.  

Founded in 2014 in Boulder, Colorado, by Tom Spier, BFG backs disruptive, better-for-you consumer brands. Spier has first-hand experience starting, growing and selling food startups, and is involved in several nonprofits tackling critical food issues.

Together, the BFG team has 30-plus years of food industry experience, attracting brands that are driving trends, upending categories and shaping the future of food.

“Fund II will give us the opportunity to invest deeper in a set of brands while staying focused on innovative early-stage food and beverage companies,” Spier said. “We’re exploring investments in a variety of categories with compelling value propositions for today’s changing consumer landscape.”

The BFG team has an outstanding track record from their first fund ($50 million) which includes the sale of Austin, Texas-based Chameleon Cold Brew to Nestle in 2017, after just a two-year hold period. With offices in both Boulder and Los Angeles, California, the BFG team is positioned in two of the biggest food hubs in the country. 

BFG looks to provide hands-on strategic support to their portfolio brands. This strategy, along with the team’s deep industry knowledge and winning investment track record, set BFG apart from other growth investment funds in this space.

The initial investment from BFG Fund II is going to Olipop, the first clinically backed digestive health beverage that benefits the microbiome, digestive function and metabolic health in cans of deliciously flavored tonic. “We feel that OLIPOP is well-positioned at the intersection of great taste and true functionality, with nothing like it on the market,” said Dayton Miller, managing partner of BFG, based in Los Angeles.

Miller told Forbes contributor Douglas Yu that the fund expects to invest 70 percent of this latest funding round in the next three to four years and continue to support its current portfolio.   

BFG was the lead investor, with $2 million, for Caulipower in October 2017 and Barnana in February 2015. The firm also invested in Good Day Chocolate in July 2015, and a second time in Barnana in January 2017, according to Crunchbase.

Other brands in the BFG portfolio include 4th and Heart, Birch Benders, Malk Organics, OHI Superfood Bars, Good Day Chocolate and Quinn Snacks.

BFG raised the capital in this second round from its previous partners and new associates, Yu reported.

Source: Boulder Food Group

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