Steve Sanger

According to Crunchbase, global food tech funding in 2024 hit just $6B—down from over $20B in 2021. But the real story? M&A is surging. From PepsiCo’s $1.95B acquisition of poppi to David’s purchase of Epogee , strategic buyers are back at the table, hungry for innovation with clear revenue paths. Consolidation is the name of the game as valuations normalize and capital tightens. This is a shift worth watching: visionary tech is no longer enough—now it’s about viability, profitability, and execution. Startups that can deliver are becoming prime acquisition targets. What do you think—is this the golden window for M&A in food tech? Read More: https://lnkd.in/ebgTwSxb #FoodTech #MergersAndAcquisitions #CPG #VentureCapital #SustainableFood #Protein #Innovation #Hospitality #EmergingBrands #FoodInnovation Hospitality Headline Newsletter Branded Hospitality Peter Rahal Mary Ann Azevedo Nathan Cooper Sam Polk, CFA Allison Ellsworth

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Rrestaurant tech M&A activity jumped 45% in the first half of 2025 via Pitchbook. Over the past decade, we have seen an explosion of restaurant tech startups offering point solutions for every imaginable need, including digital ordering, loyalty, labor scheduling, inventory management, and CRM. However, in 2025, many of these tools are running out of road and customer aquisiton is getting expensive as many players are in the space. M&A is becoming more attractive growth. EMERGING

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Proud to share that Greenfield Partners has led GoodShip’s $25M Series B, combining forces with our friends at Bessemer Venture Partners, Ironspring Ventures, Chicago Ventures, and FUSE! For anyone who has managed freight, the pain is familiar: scattered data, reactive decisions, and too many spreadsheets. GoodShip is building a modern operating system that brings planning, procurement, and performance into one place so transportation teams can act faster with measurable results. By unifying data across systems, teams get real-time visibility and clearer levers. GoodShip is already trusted by the leading enterprise shippers like Tropicana, WK Kellogg, McCain Foods, and KBX Logistics. “The freight industry is moving toward a new operating standard, with GoodShip at the forefront of this shift” says Itay Inbar. “GoodShip is redefining a trillion-dollar industry with a novel approach and rapid AI innovation - unifying procurement and visibility in a platform that’s already proving its value at enterprise scale across the world’s largest shippers.” The team, led by Ryan Soskin and David Tsai, brings deep freight experience and a builder’s mindset, and it shows in every customer conversation. Already, we are hard at work with the GoodShip team in scaling their go-to-market. Our shared goal is straightforward: help more shippers move from reactive decision-making to confident execution. This is the start of an exciting journey ahead. Congratulations to Ryan, David, and the entire GoodShip team—I’m grateful for the partnership and energized for what comes next! Itay Inbar Olivia Levine

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When we talk about M&A, it's easy to focus on big-ticket acquisitions. But the smartest companies are playing both offense and defense, restructuring their portfolios with a combination of divestitures and targeted buys. Recent news, including the below, inspired me to write Shelf Life, a three-part series about what M&A reckoning and business restructuring look like for CPG conglomerates in uncertain markets. Plus, why it matters for smaller brands looking for a strategic sale down the line. Recent Headlines: - Unilever is closing its REN Clean Skincare business - PepsiCo acquired poppi for $1.95 billion - Juice Beauty, Inc. is liquidating - Church & Dwight Co., Inc. is acquiring touchland - E.L.F. BEAUTY is acquiring rhode skin for $1 billion Check out Part 1 on my Substack, which includes a case study on Shiseido's move away from cosmetics and into skincare. https://lnkd.in/eh7nHH4T

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Premium boxed wine is the most important category in the wine industry right now. Here's why: It represents a tectonic shift in consumer behavior; one that EVERYONE in the wine industry needs to take seriously. For decades, boxed wine has been a massive category, but it's largely been relegated to more discount style, lower-end options. The notion that consumers would spend $50 on a box of wine largely felt like a pipe dream. Until a few years ago when a new cohort of players entered the market and began changing the game. Now you have brands like Gratsi , which has exploded to hundreds of thousands of 9L cases a year proving that consumers will indeed spend real dollars on boxed wine. Many of the largest wine producers are struggling with excess inventory and softening sales in their core SKU's. And headlines are (wrongly) claiming that the wine industry faces a systemic crisis. My personal opinion is that the wine business will be just fine in the long run, but the dynamics are changing. Asset-light, hyper-efficient brands likeGratsii Stephen VlahososJULIETTE WINENELauren De Niro Pipherer), @Ami Ami wineWoody Hambrechtht and many others are proving not only that explosive growth is possible, but that it can and will be found in entirely new ways. Consumers have finally realized that boxed wine offers BEAUTIFUL wine with a more sustainable, practical, simple, and (often) enjoyable experience. Expect to see every large wine player make some aggressive moves in the boxed wine space in the years to come. The space is exploding and will only continue to grow. CTop Shelf VentureseJason Shermanan

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Series A Investor (2022) - Chipotle and Cava jointly invested $25M in Hyphen, a food #robotics startup. - Hyphen's technology boost speed and accuracy while preserving human roles in fast-casual dining. - Cava plans to deploy the system in its back-of-house "second-make line" for digital orders. - Chipotle previously supported Hyphen through its Cultivate Next fund. - The collaboration reflects a broader industry shift toward automation to address labor challenges, with Cava reporting 20.3% YoY revenue growth and 37% digital sales. https://lnkd.in/e4FQEMvq

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We are thrilled to announce that Western Smokehouse Partners, a Monogram Capital Partners portfolio company and a leader in the better-for-you meat snacks industry, has acquired Junior’s Smokehouse, a Texas-based manufacturer with over 40 years of hand-crafted jerky and premium meat products.   By bringing Junior’s into the Western family, we are continuing our approach of investing in specialized supply chain businesses operating in high-growth categories where scale, quality, and dependability matter. Good business is about backing great people and I couldn't believe more in this Western's team (Matt Bormann, Doug Hankes, Peter Sikorski, CPA, Brad Turasky and many more) and am excited to welcome Junior's to the family. As always, extremely grateful for the stellar Monogram team I had the pleasure to work alongside: Ryan Collins, Julia Barth, Sammy Tufeld, Matthew Adams and huge congrats to all! https://lnkd.in/gS2ZUSm5

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I spoke with Christien Louviere of BDE Capital about his journey from a $330mm exit to becoming an independent sponsor. Christien shared excellent insights for folks looking to partner with business owners, rather than buy sellers out completely. Below are a few of the topics we covered: - Why he moved from “zero-to-one” startups to a buy-then-build strategy - How Christien's background shaped a focus on growth vs. cost-cutting - Why 20–40% rolled equity is central to his deal structures—and how it builds trust with sellers - Using scenario analysis with AI tools to evaluate management teams and uncover hidden key-person risks - How to identify when a $3–5M EBITDA company truly has a middle management layer—or is still founder-reliant For anyone investing in or buying small businesses, Christien’s approach provides a fresh lens on growth, alignment, and deal structuring. 🎥 Watch the full interview here → https://lnkd.in/ekfkaiej 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e86Agx6V

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Seed VC isn’t just in a downturn—it’s facing extinction unless it evolves fast. Great read from Rob Go & David Beisel at NextView Ventures... - YC and mega-funds now dominate the early-stage landscape, squeezing out traditional seed investors - Power law thinking has gone mainstream—everyone’s chasing trillion-dollar outliers - AI isn’t helping seed VCs—it’s raising the stakes, crowding the field, and disrupting VC itself - The middle of the market has collapsed, and excess profits are gone - Hope isn’t a strategy—seed needs a new model, now Link here... https://lnkd.in/ek2MZGhm And if you like this topic, I wrote a piece on venture bifurcating into inception funds and mega funds here: https://lnkd.in/eJz5DmX6 #ai #venturecapital #vc

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