Redbud Brands

At Amberstone, we back ambitious entrepreneurs scaling brand-first consumer product companies into nationally distributed category leaders. We combine rigorous, data-driven analysis and extensive experience in CPG to provide capital and purposeful partnership to help entrepreneurs achieve their visions. We take a concentrated and high conviction approach to investing, working with a select group of extraordinary entrepreneurs, to build dynamic, purposeful partnerships. We go beyond a playbook approach, leveraging our experience and network, to achieve exceptional outcomes for all stakeholders. Those we have backed, now back us. We believe in long-term relationships, and every CEO we have backed that has achieved an exit has, in turn, invested back in Amberstone.

Unorthodox Ventures partners with disruptive founders who want to manufacture extraordinary products and build enduring brands. If you need an investor, we will bring the capital. If you just have an idea, we can help you bring it to life. Led by contrarian entrepreneur and Big Ass Fans Founder Carey Smith, our team of engineers, product managers and marketers has decades of experience. Our hands-on partnership model earned us a 2021 World Changing Idea honor by Fast Company. Every year, entrepreneurs start more than half a million companies in America. Only 200 will ever reach $100 million in revenue. Carey and his team know what it takes to make it to $300 million. Let’s build something. Let's Build Products Software and services may be in vogue, but we like manufacturing products. High-quality products create true hurdles for competitors because you can’t just upload a patch. From high-tech medical devices to healthy snacks, our partners’ products are defined by performance, dependability and style. Let's Build Brands Carey’s name is on plenty of patents, but he would trade all of them for strong brands, which are difficult to build and easy to lose. Building a brand takes time, dedication and hard work, always focusing on what’s best long-term for customers. Do it right, and you’ll create a lifetime emotional connection with them. Let's Build Markets If you’re starting a business in a crowded market, move on. High-growth companies seek blue oceans, or new markets where competition is scarce or non-existent. Creating a market where none existed is how you change the world. We like founders with the vision to go where no one else has tread.

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.

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.

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 combine IQ and EQ to help our portfolio companies scale. Founders and funds come to us for our CPG expertise, extensive global network, and our straightforward and supportive style. We believe that leading CPG brands will continue to need to "buy-in" innovation through strategic acquisitions. We focus on investing in new companies that cover the blind spots of industry incumbents, bringing our buyers'-side experience to the builders. We're collaborative. We believe that success isn't a zero-sum game. We strive to connect with great founders, operators and investors and win as a team.