Crowdfunding, Customers & Capital: How to Fund a CPG Startup

Getting a consumer goods company off the ground has a different set of challenges than launching a software-based business. In addition to typical talent and marketing costs every startup has, CPG companies require extra capital, patience, and attention for designing prototypes, filing patents, obtaining food certifications, product testing (taste, safety, quality), product and packaging design, photography and video storytelling, paid retail placement, small batch manufacturing, fulfilling and shipping customer orders, and renting a warehouse and/or retail space.

This guide outlines 40+ sources of capital, from crowdfunding platforms and accelerator programs, to venture capital funds we respect for their expertise in helping CPG companies launch, grow and thrive, and helping founders find solutions to the challenges listed above.

As always, you can email amrit@cmyk.vc with any questions or data edit requests.

Crowdfunding

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is the premiere platform for funding your creative company or project. Their platform helps artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers, and other creators find the resources and support they need to make their ideas a reality. To date, tens of thousands of creative projects — big and small — have come to life with the support of 10 million people in the Kickstarter community.

For CPG, you can publish your project in the Food, Fashion, or Technology categories. Kickstarter's crowdfunding model is fixed funding, meaning you must meet your minimum fundraising goal to receive the money raised during your campaign.

Indiegogo

Indiegogo's mission is to empower people to unite around ideas that matter to them and together make those ideas come to life. To date, $1B+ has been raised on Indiegogo across 650k+ projects through 11MM+ contributions from their community of backers.

For CPG, you can publish your project in the Design, Fashion, Small Business, and Food categories. Indiegogo's crowdfunding model does not require that projects meet a minimum fundraising goal to access funds raised on their platform, but you can opt-in to fixed funding if you prefer to raise that way.

In partnership with MicroVentures, Indiegogo now offers an equity based crowdfunding model as well.

CircleUp

CircleUp is an investment marketplace providing capital to innovative, early-stage consumer brands. CircleUp connects consumer goods brands to accredited investors for equity-based investments. 199 companies have successfully raised capital through their platform, including SmartyPants, Pinrose, Sustain Natural, Rumpl, Peeled Snacks, Soma Water, Project Juice, Thistle, Sweetriot, and more.

PieShell

PieShell is an emerging crowdfunding platform for food and beverage entrepreneurs. Big or small, restaurant or truck, fresh or packaged, app or website, sparkling or still, you’ll find people on PieShell who share your passions and can help get your project onto the front burner.

Customers

On the topic of crowdfunding, you can 'raise capital' directly from your customers early on in your company, or to help you launch a new product. Examples include:

Tesla’s Model 3 is sold out through mid-2018, with deliveries expected to begin in late 2017 and with nearly 400,000 pre-orders to fulfill.
BioLite, makers of outdoor products that convert wood burning fire and the sun into energy, used Kickstarter to crowdfund their BaseCamp Stove and BaseLantern products.
Ravean used Kickstarter to fund their heated down jacket, and more recently a line of heat-powered sleeping bag liners.

Or, your team can pool together a small amount of capital to build a prototype or small patch of products and sell your goods directly to customers online. Once you build up demand from customers and retailers, it will be easier to raise capital in the future.

Accelerators

Highway1

Highway1 works with the hardware startups of the future. Highway1 is looking for the world’s best hardware startups bringing transformational technology to consumer markets. They work with entrepreneurs that are passionate about design and the customer experience, with the vision and drive to build a successful company.

Notable alumni: Nexi, Vytl, Primo, o6, Cinder, Podo, Sensilk, Velo Labs, Lully, Ayda, Molekule, Jewelbots, Navdy, Ringly, Birdi,

Learn more at highway1.io

Food-X

Food-X is the #1 Food innovation accelerator in the world. They help food entrepreneurs bring their products and services to market at super speed. Food-X partners with early stage companies from across the food supply chain, from agriculture through consumer packaged goods, and helps these companies grow fast through:

Startup Capital: Up to $50K in capital
Mentorship: Access and workshops with food industry thought and business leaders
Network: Access to a world class network of leading food companies, investors and press
Curriculum: based on years of learnings from SOSV’s accelerators & experts
Co-working Space: Collaborative co-working with likeminded food entrepreneurs
Alumni Network: A powerful alumni network of over 1000 SOSV startup founders

Learn more at food-x.com

Venture Capital

We've identified 30+ venture capital funds investing in consumer goods across food, personal care, health, beauty, apparel, accessories, home, kitchen, and hardware. Many of these funds invest in other sectors in addition to CPG, so be sure to visit their sites for an extended list of their portfolios. Through our research, we identified many more funds that have CPG portfolio companies, but chose to focus on the funds that have made 3+ consumer goods investments.

Want your fund to be added to this list, or need to request a data edit? Email amrit@cmyk.vc

Collaborative Fund

Website: collaborativefund.com
Offices: New York, San Francisco
Mission: Collaborative Fund is a leading source of capital for entrepreneurs pushing the world forward.
Notable investments: Revolution Foods, The Farmer's Dog, goTenna, Karma, Whoop, Walker & Co, Soma Water, Simply Gum, Blue Bottle, Hampton Creek, Outdoor Voices, Sweetgreen, Exo
CPG sectors: Food, Alternative Protein & Dairy, Health, Wellness, Hardware, Moms/Kids, Pets
Notes: Collaborative Fund has a venture partnership with Sesame Ventures to invest in products for kids and families through Collab+Sesame, and a micro fund in partnership with CircleUp called Collab+Consumer exclusively focused on supporting sustainable CPG companies.

Obvious Ventures

Website: obvious.com
Offices: San Francisco
Mission: Obvious Ventures brings experience, capital, and focus to startups combining profit and purpose for a better world.
Notable investments: Beyond Meat, Olly, Urban Remedy, Diamond Foundry, Miyoko’s Kitchen, Happiest Baby, Good Eggs
CPG sectors: Food, Alternative Protein & Dairy, Vitamins, Beverages, Moms/Kids

Maveron

Website: maveron.com
Offices: Seattle, San Francisco
Mission: At Maveron, we invest in people rather than companies. We believe in relationships. From great entrepreneurs emerge great brands. We look for passion and purpose, curiosity and rigor, courage and integrity.
Notable investments: Allbirds, August, CircleUp, Dolls Kill, Eargo, Everlane, Julep, NextFoods, Pinkberry, Potbelly, Zulily, Elysium, Ice, Moment, Naja, Zume Pizza
CPG sectors: Shoes, Home, Hardware, Food, Apparel, Beauty, Personal Care, Accessories

Forerunner Ventures

Website: forerunnerventures.com
Offices: San Francisco
Mission: An early stage venture capital firm dedicated to investing in ambitious entrepreneurs to define and dominate a new generation of commerce.
Notable investments: Aloha, Away, Bonobos, Chloe & Isabel, Cotopaxi, Dollar Shave Club, Glossier, Ritual, The Farmer’s Dog, Soma Water, Rockets of Awesome, Curology
CPG sectors: Food, Beauty, Apparel, Accessories, Travel, Vitamins, Pets, Kids

BBG Ventures

Website: bbgventures.com
Offices: New York
Mission: BBG Ventures is an early stage fund focused on consumer internet and mobile startups with at least one female founder. We back the new wave of entrepreneurs who are reimagining daily life, creating market-defining products and services that make our work, play and home lives simpler, better — and more satisfying.
Notable investments: goTenna, Goby, Din, Kiwi Crate, Ringly, Lola, Rocksbox, Thesis, Rockets of Awesome
CPG sectors: Hardware, Food, Kids, Personal Care, Apparel, Accessories

Female Founders Fund

Website: femalefoundersfund.com
Offices: New York
Mission: An early-stage fund investing in the exponential power of exceptional female talent. Our portfolio companies all share something in common - each is led by talented female founders with disruptive and innovative ideas that better serve their consumer.
Notable investments: Eloquii, Primary, Rockets of Awesome, Ringly
CPG sectors: Apparel, Kids, Hardware

Backstage Capital

Website: backstagecapital.com
Offices: Los Angeles, San Francisco
Mission: Backstage Capital invests in overachieving, underrepresented founders, then works behind the scenes to help them shine.
Notable investments: Tinsel, Supa, Houghton, NailSnaps
CPG sectors: Hardware, Apparel, Beauty

Grace Beauty Capital

Website: gracebeauty.com
Offices: New York
Mission: Grace Beauty Capital’s mission is to become the preeminent partner for early stage digital brands, consumer and retail technology companies; the premier venture capital resource for startups on the journey from kitchen table to household name. We leverage our institutional knowledge of brick and mortar retail and vast industry networks to drive strategic value to early stage entrepreneurs, guiding visionary founders from seed to success.
Notable investments: Birchbox, Chloe & Isabel, Eloquii, Harry's, MM Lafleur, Parachute, Peloton, Pinrose, Primary, Ringly, ThirdLove, Warby Parker, Rothy’s
CPG sectors: Apparel, Accessories, Shoes, Beauty, Home, Kids

Slow Ventures

Website: slowventures.com
Offices: San Francisco
Mission: At Slow, we believe in people above all else. We champion the premise that truly great ideas require long-term thinking and time, despite the seeming evidence to the contrary all around us. We exist to serve our entrepreneurs through the process of entrepreneurship, building close, personal, relationships along the journey. Through this we hope to help build lasting companies by bringing together ideas, focus, capital, technology, creativity, design, philosophy, relationships, authenticity, love, and a dash of optimism.
Notable investments: Allbirds, Birchbox, Everlane, Blue Bottle, Nest, Casper, Plated, Din, June, Foodworks
CPG sectors: Apparel, Shoes, Beauty, Food, Home, Hardware

General Catalyst

Website: generalcatalyst.com
Offices: New York, Boston, San Francisco
Mission: We work with entrepreneurs who make a difference and have fun doing it.
Notable investments: Honest, Warby Parker, NatureBox, Kuvée, M. Gemi, Outdoor Voices, Chloe & Isabel
CPG sectors: Food, Apparel, Accessories, Personal Care

Upfront Ventures

Website: upfront.com
Offices: Los Angeles
Mission: We come from various backgrounds across technology sectors as entrepreneurs, operators, and investors. We invest in businesses that are technology led. The industries we focus on include: Digital Media, Consumer Technology and Marketplaces, Consumer Goods and Services, and SAAS.
Notable investments: Adore Me, Ritual, FabFitFun, Fame and Partners, Navdy, Nanit, Osmo, Parachute, Power Supply, Ring, Walker & Co., Ulta Beauty
CPG sectors: Apparel, Personal Care, Vitamins, Hardware, Kids, Home, Beauty

Sherpa Capital

Website: sherpa.com
Offices: San Francisco
Mission: Sherpa Capital is a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that supports the most promising emerging technology-enabled companies, helping them become global brands beloved by their customers.
Notable investments: Munchery, Curology, Ipsy, Cue, Stance
CPG sectors: Food, Personal Care, Beauty, Health, Accessories

Cowboy Ventures

Website: cowboy.vc
Offices: San Francisco
Mission: Cowboy Ventures helps seed-stage technology companies grow. We seek to back exceptional founders who are building products that “re-imagine” work and personal life in large and growing markets – we call it “Life 2.0″. We are a community of founders, team members and advisors that supports each other to share lessons learned and build products that millions of customers love to use.
Notable investments: August, Brava, Dollar Shave Club, Heartwork, MemeBox, Philz Coffee, Soma Water, True & Co
CPG sectors: Home, Personal Care, Beauty, Accessories, Beverages, Furniture

Felicis Ventures

Website: felicis.com
Offices: Menlo Park
Mission: At Felicis Ventures we back the world’s iconic companies of today and tomorrow. We have a passion for product and out-of-the-box thinking. We solve problems and dominate critical markets.
Notable investments: Aloha, Bonobos, ThirdLove, Chloe & Isabel, Gobble, Kiwi Crate, Walker & Co., Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club
CPG sectors: Food, Apparel & Accessories, Personal Care, Kids

Lerer Hippeau Ventures

Website: lererhippeau.com
Offices: New York
Mission: We respect and seek out entrepreneurs with product vision, consumer insight, focused execution, and unwavering ambition.
Notable investments: Casper, Warby Parker, Allbirds, Ample Hills Creamery, Bark & Co, BaubleBar, Birchbox, Cotopaxi, Rockets of Awesome, Dia & Co, Everlane, Everytable, Goby, Good Uncle, Hungryroot, Glossier, June, littleBits, Lola, Ollie, Plated, Raden, Soma Water, Soylent, The Black Tux, Warby Parker
CPG sectors: Home, Accessories, Shoes, Food, Pets, Beauty, Apparel, Personal Care, Hardware, Travel

Vast Ventures

Website: vastvc.com
Offices: New York
Mission: Vast allocates capital to create the world we want to live in - today!
Notable investments: Gobble, Good Uncle, Juicero, Soma Water, Sweetgreen, Bark & Co, Eight, Kindara, Diamond Foundry
CPG sectors: Food, Pets, Accessories, Hardware, Home, Moms

GV (Google)

Website: gv.com
Offices: San Francisco
Mission: Our companies push the edge of what’s possible.
Notable investments: Nest, CircleUp, Blue Bottle, Walker & Co, Juicero, Light, Ripple Foods
CPG sectors: Home, Hardware, Food, Alternative Dairy

AccelFoods

Website: accelfoods.com
Offices: New York
Mission: AccelFoods invests in disruptive food and beverage companies, providing our portfolio with industry access, expertise, and infrastructure to propel innovation and fuel growth.
Notable investments: Wandering Bear Coffee, Fresh Bar, Evoke, Cocomels, Tea Drops, Exo
CPG sectors: Beverages, Food, Alternative Protein

Emil Capital Partners

Website: emilcapitalpartners.com
Offices: Greenwich
Mission: We seek out companies whose goods or services connect with the New American Consumer, and whose execution fosters consistently superior customer experiences.
Notable investments: Aloha, Balance, Bare, Bright Farms, GoodBelly, Amour Vert, Tcho, 479
CPG sectors: Food, Apparel

First Beverage Group

Website: firstbev.com
Offices: Los Angeles
Mission: First Beverage Ventures is the private equity arm of First Beverage Group, focused on investing in emerging beverage companies. First Beverage Financial is the investment banking arm of First Beverage Group. We provide advisory services to beverage firms looking to raise capital, sell, merge or acquire a business.
Notable investments: Purity Organic, Health-Aid, Project Juice, Q Drinks, Juicero, Essentia
CPG sectors: Beverages, Water

Radicle Impact Partners

Website: radicleimpact.com
Offices: Oakland
Mission: The critical systems of our society – energy, food, and finance – are undergoing massive transformation. The evolution of these systems over the coming decades will shape our future prosperity. We see this as an opportunity to deploy capital into emerging businesses with the potential to transform these critical systems in ways that we feel proud of passing on to future generations.
Notable investments: Locol, Hampton Creek, Ripple Foods, Farm Hill, Forager
CPG sectors: Food, Alternative Dairy

New Ground Ventures

Website: ngv.us
Offices: Westport
Mission: At New Ground Ventures, we look for founders with breakthrough ideas and the ability to create large, thriving businesses over the long run. NGV combines deep investment experience with a shared, enduring commitment to the mission of each company in which we invest.
Notable investments: Aloha, Essentia, Hampton Creek Foods, Health Warrior, Zevia
CPG sectors: Food, Water, Alternative Protein, Beverages

301 INC (General Mills)

Website: 301inc.com
Offices: Minneapolis
Mission: 301 INC is an energetic and enthusiastic team looking to collaborate with emerging food brands; to roll up our sleeves and work together to create breakthrough innovations and build successful businesses. If you have a product that has demonstrated success in the market, and you’re ready to take it to the next level, let’s elevate it.
Notable investments: Rythm Superfoods, Kite Hill, good culture, Tio Gazpacho
CPG sectors: Food, Alternative Protein & Dairy

Acre Venture Partners (Campbell Soup)

Website: acre.vc
Offices: Santa Monica
Mission: We are only as strong as the systems that sustain us. Our food system is ripe for collaborative disruption. Our future depends on transparency, health and sustainability. Companies who embody these values will win. Acre was born to catalyze your efforts.
Notable investments: Back to the Roots, Juicero, Sample6
CPG sectors: Food

Tin Shed Ventures (Patagonia)

Website: tinshedventures.com
Offices: Ventura
Mission: Funding the next generation of responsible businesses.
Notable investments: Wild Idea Buffalo, Watershed Mills, Bureo, Tersus
CPG sectors: Regenerative Organic Agriculture, Outdoors, Accessories, Textiles

RRE Ventures

Website: rre.com
Offices: New York
Mission: We believe in unique ideas, we partner with extraordinary teams, and we commit to supporting great companies as they develop and grow. As investors, we pride ourselves on combining experience with open-mindedness. We're a thoughtful investment firm that encompasses independent perspectives, and our decades of expertise complement our enduring hunger for amazing opportunities.
Notable investments: Bark & Co, Electric Objects, The Black Tux, Jibo, Trumaker, Sols, One Drop
CPG sectors: Pets, Hardware, Connected Artwork, Apparel, Accessories, Health

True Ventures

Website: trueventures.com
Offices: San Francisco
Mission: We invest in founders of movements and products that capture the imagination.
Notable investments: littleBits, FitBit, Blue Bottle, Peloton, Ring, Hatch Baby
CPG sectors: Hardware, Food, Health, Home, Kids

Bolt

Website: Bolt.io
Offices: San Francisco, Boston
Mission: Venture capital designed for hardware.
Notable investments: Knit, Byte, Kuvée, One Drop, PetNet, Meural, Pavlok, Qleek
CPG sectors: Hardware, Pets, Kids, Food, Health, Connected Artwork

Khosla Ventures

Website: khoslaventures.com
Offices: Menlo Park
Mission: At KV, we fundamentally like large problems that are amenable to technology solutions. We seek out unfair advantages: proprietary and protected technological advances, business model innovations, unique partnerships and top-notch teams.
Notable investments: Hampton Creek, Impossible Foods, Kite Hill, NuTek Salt, Everlane, Jawbone, littleBits, Feetz, Shoes of Prey
CPG sectors: Food, Alternative Dairy & Protein, Apparel, Hardware, Kids, Shoes

Brooklyn Bridge Ventures

Website: brooklynbridge.vc ,
Offices: Brooklyn
Mission: Brooklyn Bridge Ventures leads or co-leads investments of around $250,000 in New York City area, aiming to be part of the first $750,000 you ever raise. Conversations often start pre-product and pre-deck. The founders we back tend to have tons of energy, unique industry insight, maturity, an enthusiasm for learning, authenticity, and a respect for others.
Notable investments: Ample Hill Creamery, Hungryroot, Ringly, Canary, goTenna
CPG sectors: Food, Accessories, Hardware, Home

BoxGroup

Website: boxgroup.com
Offices: New York
Mission: Our goal is to back the best entrepreneurs regardless of location or stage. We view investing as a journey where we support companies based on conviction in the team. We look to partner with extraordinary entrepreneurs building disruptive technology companies and with visions to create the next generation of category defining businesses.
Notable investments: Lola, Harry's, Aloha, Warby Parker, The Black Tux, BlueApron, Glossier, Carbon 38
CPG sectors: Personal Care, Food, Apparel, Accessories, Beauty

Bullish

Website: bullish.co
Offices: New York, Greenwich, Denver
Mission: Bullish is an Accelerator Agency designed for businesses living early in an S-curve. Born out of Consigliere Brand Capital, we are one part Strategic Creative Agency, one part Consumer Investment Firm that deploys capabilities from both worlds to help brands speed the transformation of opportunities into outcomes.
Notable investments: Casper, Aloha, Chloe & Isabel, Primary, Kiwi Crate, Matchabar, Peloton, Warby Parker, Birchbox, Harry's
CPG sectors: Food, Apparel, Accessories, Health, Wellness, Kids, Home

CAA Ventures

Website: caaventures.com
Offices: Los Angeles
Mission: CAA Ventures invests in great technologies that will become the next cultural phenomena. We love working with entrepreneurs with big ideas that will change industries or spark new ones, and will impact the way society lives. We are looking for innovative companies where we can help entrepreneurs by utilizing CAA’s deep expertise and vast resources.
Notable investments: August, Bark & Co., Beautylish, Bloom, Brava, DSTLD, Julep, Sprig
CPG sectors: Food, Apparel, Accessories, Pets, Beauty, Hardware, Moms, Home

First Round Capital

Website: firstround.com
Offices: San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia
Mission: The first round for tenacious founders.
Notable investments: Aloha, Birchbox, Chloe & Isabel, Warby Parker, True & Co, BlueApron
CPG sectors: Food, Beauty, Accessories, Apparel

Spark Capital

Website: sparkcapital.com
Offices: Boston, San Francisco
Mission: Spark Capital partners with imaginative entrepreneurs who are driven to move people with the products and experiences they create.
Notable investments: Warby Parker, Lola, Lily, Oculus
CPG sectors: Hardware, Accessories, Personal Care

Andreessen Horowitz

Website: a16z.com
Offices: Menlo Park
Mission: Andreessen Horowitz backs bold entrepreneurs who move fast, think big, and are committed to building the next major franchises in technology.
Notable investments: Julep, Lytro, Walker & Co, FiftyThree, Jawbone, Oculus, Ringly, Soylent
CPG sectors: Hardware, Personal Care, Beauty, Food

Red Swan Ventures

Website: redswan.vc
Offices: New York
Mission: Red Swan invests in entrepreneurs who delight customers, create culture, and disrupt industries.
Notable investments: Bonobos, AYR, Birchbox, Warby Parker, Trumaker
CPG sectors: Apparel, Accessories, Beauty

Brand Foundry Ventures

Website: brandfoundryvc.com
Offices: New York
Mission: Brand Foundry is an early stage venture capital firm dedicated to accelerating the growth of emerging, innovative consumer focused brands.
Notable investments: Cotopaxi, Warby Parker, Birchbox, Harry's, Peloton, AllBirds, Koio, Brilliant Bicycles, Lola, JewelBots, Caeden, Rockets of Awesome, Pinrose
CPG sectors: Apparel, Beauty, Personal Care, Accessories, Shoes, Fitness, Hardware

Compound

Website: compound.vc
Offices: New York
Mission: Founders architecting the future. Compound invests in early stage technology companies disrupting or enabling traditional industries.
Notable investments: Stowaway Cosmetics, Thrive Market, Away, Nectar
CPG sectors: Beauty, Food, Travel

WME Ventures

Website: wmevc.com
Offices: Los Angeles, New York
Mission: Our experienced operators and investors help world-class entrepreneurs accelerate their businesses by leveraging the full breadth, creativity, and expertise of the WME | IMG network.
Notable investments: Warby Parker, Glossier, Ollie
CPG sectors: Accessories, Beauty, Pets

Pritzker Group Venture Capital

Website: pritzkergroup.com
Offices: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York
Mission: Helping entrepreneurs achieve greatness.
Notable investments: Honest, Dollar Shave Club, Casper, Vow To Be Chic
CPG sectors: Apparel, Personal Care, Home

Consumer Goods, CapitalAmrit RichmondFebruary 20, 2017Resources

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