June 20, 2024
Ellie Rubenstein, CEO, Manna Tree Partners
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I have been fascinated by the amount of innovation happening in the food and beverage sectors by big corporations and startups around the world. I invited Ellie Rubenstein a friend and CEO of a new private equity group, Manna Tree Partners, for an episode of The Reboot Chronicles to discuss the future of food and the importance of private equity and venture investing in the next-gen of human health.
Department of Agriculture figures show the US supplies $1.7 trillion worth of food while the global market is estimated to reach $12 trillion. Seeing opportunity for growth in this sector and being able to focus her for human health, Ellie and her partners decided to start Manna Tree. “Manna Tree is an investment firm committed to a global mission of improving human health by innovating, investing in, and advancing portfolio companies that make a positive impact on the food system and functional health.” ER
Food-Based Investments
After raising over $140 mil., Manna has made four investments in their portfolio, with a goal of reaching ten soon. Manna’s investment strategy is to find vertically integrated companies with the ability to better control the supply chain. Within the food products sector, Manna has narrowed the focus to four categories: primary resources, processing, distribution, and consumer brands. So far, two of its investments have been in upstart plant-based companies and an emerging growth egg and a beef company. Protein continues to be a hot category and their investment in Vital Farms is a perfect example, it just went public with a blockbuster IPO.
“Manna Tree is an investment firm committed to a global mission of improving human health by innovating, investing in, and advancing portfolio companies that make a positive impact on the food system and functional health.” ER
COVID Supply Chain Impacts
During the 2020 Pandemic, control of the supply chain has been paramount. The key is to avoid supply chain shocks not only in production, but in the distribution and delivery of the end product. Manna is fortunate as their portfolio companies have avoided negative supply chain impacts. Instead, they have benefited from health-conscious consumers and the increase in online grocery shopping. Beyond these shifts, another trend that has seen increased popularity is carbon-friendly nutrition-centric packaging and labeling. Consumers caring more about health and wellness are becoming increasingly aware of whether goods are ethically sourced from reading labels and packaging.
Food as Medicine
Approximately 70% of US deaths are related to a lifestyle diseases, driving an emerging food-as-medicine trend. With so many consumers shifting to diet and lifestyle considerations in their shopping, the impact on the food, beverage and health sectors will touch everything from sourcing and ingredients to processing and labeling. It seems clear that Manna is well positioned for growth, helping their portfolio companies capitalize on the increasing popularity of food health and environmentally produced products—as-well-as continuing to make informed and thoughtful investments.
