Dive Brief:
- General Mills' 301 Inc. is the lead investor in a $3 million Series C financing round for Rhythm Superfoods, producer of organic and non-GMO plant-based superfood snacks.
- CircleUp was another investor and also exclusively filled the financing round.
- More than 5,000 retail stores across the country carry Rhythm Superfoods' products, which are priced at $2.49 to $4.99 depending on the product, according to a news release.
Dive Insight:
After acquiring companies like Annie's well after the smaller company had seen success with its organic and natural products, General Mills is banking on the benefit of being involved in these companies' successes earlier on. Investing in a promising company in the earlier stages could save money for General Mills should it choose to acquire the smaller company in the future.
CircleUp and Kickstarter are two examples of how crowdfunding is increasingly becoming one way for smaller food and beverage companies to raise capital, but receiving funding from investors in a more traditional way is not off the table, albeit sometimes more difficult than in industries like technology.
Edible Ventures is one such group of angel investors dedicated to high growth food and beverage companies and features members that have expertise in these industries.