My New Ag+Food Newsletter Just For You
The Business of Food
by Jennifer Barney
Welcome!
What is The Business of Food? It is food industry knowledge for food startups and ag leaders delivered to your inbox from Jennifer Barney, food entrepreneur and innovation strategist. I’ll be writing on topics that bridge gaps between Food + Ag. Whether you are an ag leader getting into consumer products, or a food startup looking to scale, I’ll be bringing you true stories, insights, and news so that you can make better decisions in the business of food.
I hope you enjoy and forward to friends! (If not, you can unsubscribe here)
Today's post:
Ag Invests in Food
Upcoming posts:
The CPG Opportunity
Get the Fundamentals Right
Ag Growth Beyond the Core (3 Part Series)
Ag Invests in Food 2-min read
The pitch
I recently sat through a startup pitch to a value-added ag producer. The startup was looking to launch products across multiple food categories in retail. The ask was for capital to get all these items produced in exchange for an equity stake in the new entity and a supplier contract.
It isn’t hard to see how this would be compelling to an ag producer looking for new sales channels. As the pitch went into Q&A, it was clear there was a disconnect in each parties’ understanding of how this was going to go.
The Disconnect
Getting new products to market that succeed and even disrupt categories is where I live. The growth in consumer products away from Big Food (think Kellogg’s, Campbell’s, General Mills) and toward small emerging brands has been going on for more than a decade and the trend is only accelerating. An entire industry serving startups has cropped up to support in every way from incubation, launch, team management and acquisition. Backing these startups are the venture arms, angels or private equity whose expertise are grounded in the industry of CPG.
I believe ag has an opportunity here, but is currently too removed from the fundamentals of CPG to properly get in on this action.
My first partners in Barney Butter were almond farmers, so being at the intersection of Food + Ag is very personal to me - besides my personal connection to Rex Barney, agribusiness CFO and hogger of bed sheets. But I digress.
When I took Barney Butter to market 15 years ago there was scant institutional support – I lucked into being the first brand to take almond butter out of the natural food dungeon and into mainstream grocery - helping to create a category that never existed.
The ecosystem and network of food innovation is where I hang out, and what I bring to the ag community. In turn I help startups get closer to ag. These sectors are clearly reliant, and each could better leverage the other for mutual value creation.
So keep reading as I bring you real stories, news and insights to help you make better decisions in the business of food.
All my best,
Jennifer
I'd love to hear from you - get it touch at jennifer@3rdandbroadway.com