Franchise Times | Cameron Diaz Lends Celebrity Shine to Modern Acupuncture
The man who arranged 50 Cent’s equity investment in Vitamin Water and Madonna’s deal with Vita Coco, Seth Rodsky and his firm Strand Equity, have bought a stake in Modern Acupuncture and brought actress Cameron Diaz into the deal, too.
It is Strand Equity’s first investment in the franchise space, said Rodsky, who also co-founded lifestyle brand Draper James and production company Hello Sunshine with Reese Witherspoon.
“We reached out to Modern Acupuncture in late 2018 after identifying acupuncture as a healthcare and wellness service which we thought to be a large white space,” Rodsky said in an interview. “I’m a user of acupuncture and a lot of my friends are as well, and we started scratching our head” about the “fact that there wasn’t a distinctive brand and a scale player. When we stumbled across Modern Acupuncture we started talking.”
Wall Street Journal | Strand Equity Backs Franchiser Modern Acupuncture
Strand Equity is joining actress Cameron Diaz in backing Modern Acupuncture, a franchiser of clinics that use the ancient therapeutic technique.
The Los Angeles firm is making a minority investment in Modern Acupuncture alongside a number of individuals identified by Modern Acupuncture as including physician Dr. Charles Anderson, entrepreneur Cole Zucker and Ms. Diaz.
The capital represents Modern Acupuncture’s first outside equity investment.
The Scottsdale, Ariz.-based business was started in 2016 and already has 49 locations across 16 states and plans to have more than 60 locations by the end of the year, according to Seth Rodsky, a co-founder and managing partner at Strand.
BusinessWire | Industry Leaders Launch Next-Gen, Ultra-Customizable Wellness Platform, Buddy Nutrition
Buddy Nutrition (https://www.buddynutrition.com/), a modern personalized nutrition platform – created by leading health and wellness executives – offering ultra-customizable functional foods and supplements, has today announced its public launch. Buddy Nutrition is backed by Forerunner Ventures and Strand Equity, placing the brand in company with Birchbox, Glossier, Dollar Shave Club, Curology, HUM Nutrition, Flywheel, Chopt and Vita Coco.
Livio Bisterzo, Founder of Buddy Nutrition and Chief Executive Officer of the brand’s holding company, Green Park Brands, is best known for bringing some of the world’s fastest growing natural snack brands to market, including HIPPEAS, Ugly Water, Reel Paper and Mavericks Snacks.
MarketWatch | Real Good Foods Closes Minority Investment From Strand Equity
The Real Good Food Company, LLC, ("Real Good Foods", "RGF" or the "Company") a disruptor in the frozen category and leader in protein-rich, nutrient-dense, real frozen food, announced today the closing of a minority investment from Strand Equity ("Strand").
Created by Josh Schreider in 2016, Real Good Foods successfully launched a single-serve pizza that offers customers a healthy, high protein, low-carb and grain-free alternative to traditional frozen pizza. More recently, the Company successfully rolled out innovative new items, including low carbohydrate cauliflower-crust pizzas, snacks, appetizers and Mexican entrees. Their products are sold through most leading retailers as well as online through www.realgoodfoods.com.
Forbes | Vegetables-Based Rice: RightRice Receives $5.5 Million Minority Investment
Vegetables-based grain brand RightRice has secured a $5.5 million minority investment led by Strand Equity after launching its products exclusively in Whole Foods across the U.S. and via Amazon.
RightRice was created by Keith Belling who is also the mastermind behind one of the fastest-growing potato chips brands Popchips, and it is one of the first brands to launch in collaboration with both Whole Foods and Amazon.
Fox Business | Kris Jenner, other celebs look to disrupt the $3B rice market
Kris Jenner, Opens a New Window. Karlie Kloss, Ashley Graham and Jillian Michaels are among the slew of celebrities who have invested their own capital in a new alternative rice company, Opens a New Window. hoping to disrupt the $3 billion market.
RightRice announced Monday it has closed a $5.5 million minority investment led by Strand Equity with a string of celebrities and other notable industry veterans, including Impossible Foods Opens a New Window. COO David Lee, Restoration Hardware CEO Gary Friedman and Warby Parker co-founder Dave Gilboa.
Forbes | The Power Of Purpose
Investor, innovator and paradigm-shifter Seth Rodsky has been on a transformational streak since his early days in hospitality at the Tao Group / Strategic Marketing Group. His experience uniquely situated him at the intersection of commerce and culture. From introducing 50 Cent to Vitamin Water in an all-equity deal to Madonna investing in Vita Coco (which he put together with his longtime friend, and Madonna’s manager, Guy Oseary) to Leonardo DiCaprio investing in Hippeas to introducing Justin Timberlake to Bai, he realized the power of getting cultural icons to not just endorse a brand–but to actively invest in it. "Earlier in my career, I realized that there was something missing in the marketplace: what if you revolutionized the branded consumer category and influencers started writing their own checks and investing their own money rather than just getting paid money to put their face on a billboard? This model began to align interests and had everybody working towards the same goal of building equity value. Now it is difficult for a consumer brand to be relevant without influencer involvement, "said Rodsky at his offices overlooking Century City.
BEVNET | Peet’s Acquires Majority Stake in Revive Kombucha
Peet’s Coffee has taken a majority stake in California-based kombucha brand Revive, giving the growing company a single long-term partner with which to build upon its existing growth. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Emeryville, Calif.-based Peet’s first invested in Revive last August, leading a $7.5 million Series B funding round. In buying out the company’s previous investors — Wes Crain of Rodeo Ventures, Arif Fazal of Blueberry Ventures, Seth Rodsky of Strand Equity, Larry Kahn of Beechwood Capital, and Ilya Nykin, co-founder and managing director at Prolog Ventures — Peet’s and Revive co-founders Sean and Rebekah Lovett are now the kombucha maker’s sole remaining shareholders.
NOSH | Van Leeuwen Ice Cream Scoops Up Investment From Strand Equity
In high school, Ben Van Leeuwen started in the ice cream business as a Good Humor Truck driver. Over a decade later, he’s still surrounded by ice cream and trucks as the co-founder of Van Leeuwen Ice Cream, which today announced that it had closed a minority investment from Strand Equity.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Previously the brand closed a convertible note led by Blue Scorpion Investments, which Strand also took part in.
The Brooklyn company has both a retail business — with shops in New York and trucks in New York and Los Angeles — as well as wholesale distribution in 25 states across 700 retailers. According to the company, total annual revenue is projected to reach $15 million this year.
Forbes | Strand Equity Declares 'Youth To The People' With Minority Investment
Los Angeles-based vegan skincare company Youth to the People (YTTP) announced today they received a minority investment from private equity firm Strand Equity, also based in Los Angeles, to further expand the brand and fuel growth. Details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Cofounded by cousins Greg Gonzalez and Joe Cloyes just under three years ago, the Superfoods-focused YTTP has enjoyed a meteoric rise. Appealing not only to the coveted millennial audience but across both sexes, YTTP is expected to triple in revenue in 2018, with plans to be in over 800 North American Sephora stores by the start of summer, according to the company.
Beauty Independent | Hum Nutrition Scores $5M As Investment Pours Into Ingestibles
The ingestibles category received another stamp of approval from investors with Hum Nutrition finalizing $5 million in Series A funding from CircleUp Growth Partners, Imaginary Ventures and Strand Equity Partners.
The deal follows Unilever Ventures’ bet on Nutrafol, CAVU Venture Partners’ infusion into Vital Proteins, Goodwater Capital’s backing of Care/of and Founders Fund’s support of Ritual Vitamins, and demonstrates confidence in the upside of inside-out beauty as it matures from early adopters to a broad consumer base. A leader in the prestige beauty supplements business, Hum Nutrition has been buoyed by its rise and registered quarterly sales increases of at least 30% in each of the last 12 quarters.
Just Food | US chickpea pasta firm Banza closes fresh fundraising round
Banza said Boston-based Beechwood Capital had "significant experience in investing in fast growing consumer brands", pointing to its backing for companies including US baking mix business Foodstirs, skincare brand Tatcha and beauty retailer Miniluxe.
Another US private-equity firm, Strand Equity Partners, which recently invested in local chickpea snacks firm Hippeas, also took part in the Banza fundraising round.
Banza described Beechwood Capital as "the majority investor in this round" but refused to be drawn on the make-up of its shareholder base in the wake of the new fundraising.
NOSH | Why DiCaprio and Strand Hopped to Invest in Hippeas
At the 2017 Sweets and Snacks Expo this week in Chicago, Illinois legume-based snacking brand HIPPEAS booth was pulsing with excitement – both due to the brand’s popularity in retail, but also thanks to the announcement that Strand Equity Partners and Academy Award-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio have joined as investors.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The Green Park Brands-owned company launched in the U.S. market in Spring 2016, and is already sold in over 22,000 points of distribution, including Starbucks locations nationwide. Livio Bisterzo, Green Park Brands CEO and Founder, told NOSH that the new funds will mainly be used for working capital to support its retail accounts. This will include expanding full-time staff beyond its current 34 employees, as well as marketing efforts.
Food Navigator | ‘Unprecedented traction’ of Hippeas attracts Leonardo DiCaprio, Strand Equity Partners
Leonardo DiCaprio – who has already shown quite an interest in the food and beverage sector via investments in guayusa-fueled tea brand RUNA and seafood company Love the Wild – has poured an undisclosed sum into chickpea snack brand Hippeas, along with Strand Equity Partners.
Fortune | Justin Timberlake Invests in Beverage Startup Bai Brands
“Justin is one of the most creative people I’ve been around,” Weiss said. “He truly cares about the beverage and has an opinion worth listening to whether it relates to flavor innovation or marketing.”
For Bai, an investment and marketing jolt from Timberlake will help elevate the name-recognition of the brand. Timberlake is one of many well-known investors that have jumped at a chance to buy a stake of Bai. Other backers include Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS, +0.00%), actor Ashton Kutcher, and private-equity firm Strand Equity Partners. The brand’s fast growth has helped it achieve a potential valuation of more than $2 billion—including debt—as it reportedly mulls a sale.
BEVNET | Strand Equity Acquires Minority Stake in Bai Brands
Calling Bai Brands, LLC, a “game-changing company,” Strand Equity Partners yesterday announced the acquisition of a minority ownership stake in the coffeefruit beverage marketer. Headed by marketing and entertainment maven Seth Rodsky and Theodore Schwartz, founder and former chairman of APAC Customer Services, Strand was launched earlier this year with a focus on investment in “emerging and dynamic consumer brands.”
“We couldn’t be more excited about the positioning and product differentiation [of Bai],” Rodsky told BevNET. “We’re always looking for emerging categories and leaders in those categories, and Bai really fits that mantra.”
PR Newswire | Strand Equity Partners Announces Minority Investment In Bai Brands LLC®
Strand Equity Partners, a growth equity fund focused on investing in emerging and dynamic consumer brands, announces the acquisition of a minority ownership stake in Bai®, an innovative beverage that is 100% natural, only 5 calories, infused with coffeefruit and flavored with exotic fruit juices. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Ben Weiss, Founder and CEO of Bai, launched the brand in 2009 with the mission to share the powerful antioxidant of coffee's superfruit with consumers by producing refreshing beverages that harness the unique ingredient. Bai (Mandarin for "pure") delivers 100% natural infusions with one gram of free-radical fighting coffeefruit, naturally sweetened and flavored with exotic fruit juices. In addition, Bai products are kosher, vegan, gluten- and soy-free, and come in various thirst-quenching fruit flavors in addition to its 5-calorie products, Bai5®.