2x Consumer Products Growth Partners is Now Loft Growth Partners and is Actively Investing In Breakthrough Emerging Consumer Products Brands
The longest tenured comparable emerging consumer products investment firm recently closed its third fund, added a third partner and welcomed three new advisors
CHICAGO, April 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- 2x Consumer Products Growth Partners, a growth investor for emerging consumer products businesses, today announced its new name, Loft Growth Partners, and a new look that better reflects the firm's purpose, which is to elevate partner brands to new heights.
Loft Growth Partners is growing, having recently closed its third fund, added a new partner and welcomed three new Industry Venture Partners. This expansion will give the firm more resources, insights, connections and capital to help pioneering entrepreneurs and brands to grow.
Loft Growth Partners is known for investing in businesses that are transforming their categories, are grounded in strong purpose and values, and deliver product experiences that consumers love. The firm's focus is food, beverage, personal care, vitamins and supplements, home care and pet care categories, where the team's own operating experience, knowledge and relationships can be put to work to help brand partners succeed. The firm targets emerging brands that are typically $2-25 million in revenue, with a strong track record of success with consumers and retailers.
"We are actively looking to partner with entrepreneurs building the brands of tomorrow – serving real needs, making a difference and ready to scale," said Sharon Kieffer, managing partner with Loft Growth Partners. "We are excited about how the Loft Growth Partners brand better reflects what we are doing and the purpose of our firm."
The firm is celebrating its 20th year investing in emerging consumer brands, with a long, successful track record and a reputation for investing in great entrepreneurs and mentoring hundreds more. The team has 400+ years of collective experience building consumer brands as entrepreneurs, operators and investor partners from start-ups to the world's largest consumer packaged goods companies. This experience helps the Loft Growth Partners team understand the challenges entrepreneurs face, and help them accelerate growth and avoid pitfalls along the way.
Loft Growth Partners is the longest tenured comparable emerging consumer products investment firm and remains committed to building the brands of the future. Over the last 20 years, Loft Growth Partners has:
- Raised approximately $200 million to fuel small and growing brands. Its investor base includes dozens of founders, plus current and former executives of leading companies in the industry.
- Partnered with entrepreneurs and teams that have achieved a 50%+ annual growth rate across the portfolio since inception.
- Assisted many partner brands to have significant monetizations, including Wellness pet food, which was acquired by Berwind and became WellPet; MegaFood whole food vitamins, which became part of Pharmavite; and Tasty Bite Indian and pan-Asian foods, which was acquired by Kagome of Japan, which is now owned by Mars Inc.
- Helped create more than 300 jobs in the last decade alone across partner brands.
"We are devoted to elevating our partner brands and helping them grow in every sense of the word," said Andy Whitman, managing partner with Loft Growth Partners. "We are all in, and we bring many resources to help our brands succeed: experienced team, decades of insights, long track record of emerging brand success and a multitude of relationships across key areas to open doors."
The firm also brought on its third partner, Liz Myslik, a 20-year natural products industry veteran who was most recently a partner and chief growth officer (CGO) at Boulder, Colo.-based Fresca Foods, an innovation, supply chain and manufacturing partner in the natural products industry. In addition, Loft Growth Partners has welcomed three new Industry Venture Partners who bring valuable skill sets to help the team and its partner brands succeed. These partners include Betsy McGinn, co-author of The Amazon Roadmap: How Innovative Brands are Reinventing the Path to Market; Corinne Shindelar, founding president of NCGA and former CEO of INFRA; and Robin Vogel, vice president of global strategic sourcing for Mars Wrigley.
Within a male-dominated investment industry, diversity in leadership is more important than ever. Loft Growth Partners is proud to be a majority women-led firm, as two out of the three partners, and three out of four of the senior team, are women. In addition, the majority of the firm's current partner brands are led by women, and nearly all of the companies have female and/or people of color as key executives.
Changes in consumer behavior and desire for natural products, plus greater transparency and innovation, has led to tremendous growth in the consumer products industry. Over the last five years, more than 50 new investment firms have emerged, offering well more than $1 billion of investment capital. This is positive for the emerging brand ecosystem and for Loft Growth Partners by bringing in more co-investors and collaborators.
"This is an exciting time for our fund and the categories in which we invest," shared Myslik. "We are eager to discover new brands that provide a unique consumer offering, and work together to build meaningful, sustainable businesses."
Visit www.LoftGrowthPartners.com to learn more or connect.
About Loft Growth Partners
Loft Growth Partners is a leading growth investor for emerging consumer products businesses. Our purpose is to elevate partner brands to new heights. Our team brings more than 400 years of collective operational experience leading emerging and established brands to help purpose-driven entrepreneurs and teams to grow their companies into the iconic brands of tomorrow. Loft Growth Partners invests in brands and categories where the team's experience, knowledge and relationships will help the brand partners grow. This includes the food, beverage, personal care, vitamins and supplements, home care and pet care categories. The firm targets emerging brands that are typically $2-25 million in revenue with a strong sense of "proven-ness" with consumers and retailers. The Loft Growth Partners team values brands that are transforming their categories, grounded in strong purpose and values, and deliver product experiences that consumers love.
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SOURCE Loft Growth Partners
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