Danone Ventures

Made up of a flexible, knowledgeable team of investment and operational experts, Danone Manifesto Ventures invests early in innovative companies that are bringing high potential emerging brands, concepts, or capabilities to the market. Then, they nurture them to the next stage of development by providing mentorship, financial assistance, operational support, and business expertise. In doing so, the cross-fertilization potential is unlocked, enabling us to also learn from our partners.

We embrace the unique perspective and energy that startups bring to the world. We complement those elements with our deep food industry experience to help emerging companies reach their goals faster. Areas of FocusFunctional: Better-for-you alternatives and nutritional powerhouses Sustainable: Takes care of people and planet Experiential: Next level indulgence, immersion, and engagement Value Add: How We Can HelpSales & Product Strategy: Support on channel & category strategy, portfolio planning, trade & marketing design to scale your brand. Supply Chain & Operations: Guidance on the product journey, from sourcing to manufacturing and distribution, to achieve efficient growth. Insights & Thought Leadership: Market analysis and corporate function advice leveraging Grupo Bimbo's global resources.

We partner with consumer food brands who have the ambition to become category leaders and sustainability champions. We have helped iconic brands navigate to the top of their category, fast. Pan-European Seed to Series B investors with tickets between €2 – €10m. Our ManifestoDeeply driven by a passion for food & beverage: Our knowledge and passion are cornerstones for deep and lasting relationships with founders. Rational over emotional: We build our conviction by understanding people, market, the product and the need it addresses, using data to support most decisions. Ambitious, squared: We back category-defining companies building the future of food. We think big and encourage our partners to think bigger. There to support, not interfere: We are in a number-driven world, and we trust the analytical process. Being thoroughly data driven helps us navigate problems and find more actionable solutions. In hustle we trust: We like entrepreneurs who hustle harder and smarter. We appreciate creativity in the engagement, fast and clear communications and relentlessness pursuit of objectives. Do good, be good and make good: We value honesty, integrity and trust in the way we operate and expect the same from our partners. Caring as an advantage: We care about the planet, people and above all the entrepreneurs. We invest in companies that take their impact on the planet seriously and have clearly defined impact goals. Alignment of interests is our mantra: We strive to preserve alignment between shareholders, management and other stakeholders. We allow our convictions to evolve: If we decide not to invest, we do our best to give the founders constructive feedback and keep the dialogue open, leaving the door open in case we build a stronger conviction down the line.

Bluestein Ventures is a leading early-stage venture capital fund investing in the future of food. Our focus is game-changing, early-stage ventures across the food industry that redefine how consumers achieve their health and wellness. Our investments span the entire supply chain – both B2C and B2B – with a focus on four areas: high-growth consumer brands, proprietary foodtech, next-gen commerce, and digital technology. Our target stage is Seed to Series A. We’re active investors, going beyond capital to help our portfolio companies develop, iterate, and implement their go-to-market strategy to achieve product-market fit and set the foundation for scale. Since Bluestein was founded in 2014, we have invested in over 40 companies. Notable investments include Factor, the #1 prepared meal-subscription service that exited to HelloFresh in 2020; FourKites, a freight location intelligence platform for large shippers; Meati, a minimally processed fungi-based alternative protein; and Foxtrot, a new-age convenience store. Other investments include Mori, Vive Organic, New Culture, and Provi.

Established by founder and former CEO of Vital Proteins and backed by a team of highly successful consumer brand entrepreneurs and investors, Starshot Ventures Launch Pad – SVLP – is a venture creation studio that forges innovative brands meant to deliver on consumers’ wellness needs. We are seasoned leaders and well-respected brand builders on a mission to provide better wellness solutions for all. We lead with curiosity and chase bold ideas in the pursuit of helping others be their best.

RPV is the $100 million corporate venture fund for Rich Products, a $4.5B family-owned food company that operates in 100+ countries and sells across a range of channels from food service to retail. Our fund invests in companies across the value chain that will shape the future of food through technology and innovation. We have investments across three core areas (1) Nutrition and Sustainability (2) Next Generation of Retail and Food Service and (3) Digitization of the supply chain. Our portfolio includes market leading companies like Future Meat (cell-based meat), The Every Company (animal-free egg proteins), Strella (food-waste reduction) and Kitchen United (ghost kitchens). We measure success on financial returns while we also seek to bring strategic insights to the broader organization. RPV is in its 5th year and we continue to be very active targeting 4-5 investment per year.