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Forbes | How This Beverage Company Committed To Long-Term Growth After Their First $1 Million Investment

Forbes | How This Beverage Company Committed To Long-Term Growth After Their First $1 Million Investment

“The word future proof—defined to not become obsolete—we’re not trying to jump on fads. They’re big brands that are here to stay,” says Schultz.

This was all born from the team’s ability to adapt to success together, sharing their collaborative growth over the last decade was as much about the opportunities they did take, as those opportunities they turned down (reluctantly). After receiving Cuban’s million dollar investment, the team recalls flying around the country to headquarters like Walmart, where they were asked how quickly they could release nationwide; they wanted to grow but didn’t want to grow too quickly. Read more

KOS | Forbes: “Plant Protein Company KOS Raises $2.1 Million To Expand U.S. Distribution”

KOS | Forbes: “Plant Protein Company KOS Raises $2.1 Million To Expand U.S. Distribution”

Plant-based protein company KOS has closed a $2.1 million funding round led by Springdale Ventures; former Whole Foods CEO, Walter Robb; and Horizon Bank’s chair Jim Schneider to support its continued expansion across the U.S.

The new funding is also expected to fuel KOS’ product innovation, and strengthen the brand’s marketing presence, according to a company release.

KOS | Self: “7 Vegan Protein Powders I Actually Love”

KOS | Self: “7 Vegan Protein Powders I Actually Love”

I’ve tried a lot of vegan protein powders that can only be described as yucky. Plant-based protein sources (like pea, soy, and brown rice) just don’t perform as well as their whey counterparts for whatever reason—tending toward a gritty texture and, uh, earthy taste. Fortunately for us vegan (or vegan-ish) exercisers of the world, the market for plant-based protein powders today is huge. So, along with the duds, there are lots of delicious options that come in innovative formulas and pretty much any flavor you can think of.

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Eterneva | Analytical Chemists Test for Carbon in Cremated Remains

Eterneva | Analytical Chemists Test for Carbon in Cremated Remains

The world-renowned TDI Brooks International, a forensic and analytical chemistry lab that has been doing carbon testing on seabed sediment for decades for the government and oil companies, received an abnormal request in 2019. Eterneva, an ashes to diamond company based in Austin, Texas, wanted them to test for the carbon percentages in cremated remains, hair, and aquamation remains. “We’ve never had a sample with the name of a dead person on it here before,” said their lead scientist. Turns out, cremated remains have on average 1-4% carbon. Hair has 36% carbon. And aquamation remains came in at 16% carbon.

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Springdale | Pillsbury: “Food Industry Disruption and Innovation Join us as we ask our expert roundtable about food industry trends stemming from COVID-19”

Springdale | Pillsbury: “Food Industry Disruption and Innovation Join us as we ask our expert roundtable about food industry trends stemming from COVID-19”

We discuss topics such as:

What trends are seeing a huge increase as a result of the pandemic? Which trends do you think will stick?
How have the supply chains in the meat industry affected the plant-based industry such as alternative proteins? What about hybrid products?
What do you see in the D2C market? Do you think services such as Blue Apron and others will maintain the increase they have seen during the pandemic?
What affects do you think political and geopolitical dynamics will have on the food industry as a whole?
Is packaging more of a focus now, because D2C is growing?

Springdale | Consumer VC: “Dan Graham (Springdale Ventures) – How He Scaled buildasign.com to over $100 million, The Opportunity He Saw Investing in CPG in Austin, and the Differences Analyzing DTC and Retail Brands”

Springdale | Consumer VC: “Dan Graham (Springdale Ventures) – How He Scaled buildasign.com to over $100 million, The Opportunity He Saw Investing in CPG in Austin, and the Differences Analyzing DTC and Retail Brands”

I’d like to thank Adelle Archer for introducing me to today’s guest Dan Graham, one of the co-founders and General partners of Springdale Ventures. Some of their investments include Eterneva, Literati, and Beatbox beverages. Previously, Dan co-founded BuildASign.com in 2005 and grew it to an over $100 million dollar CPG, Ecommerce business that was purchased by Cimpress (VistaPrint) in 2018 for $280M. This episode we talk all things Austin and CPG – the opportunity he saw to form Spingdale, why he didn’t need to fundraise when building Buildasign.com and how he thinks about brand in relation to ecommerce and retail.

Lumen | Once Upon a Food Story Podcast: “WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD COMES FROM”

Lumen | Once Upon a Food Story Podcast: “WHY YOU NEED TO KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD COMES FROM”

Co-founders of the innovative hemp elixir brand Lumen, Kris Taylor and Yasir Hashim, believe that healthy soil creates the foundation for healthy food and healthy people as a result. And it all starts with regenerative agriculture: farming practices that aim to restore the health of our broken ecosystems and improve our food system as well.

Having been best friends since middle school, Kris and Yasir have both always been passionate about discovering ways to make a difference in the world around them. Leaving acceptances to medical school behind, the two have a firm belief that food is medicine and the future of food begins with empowering small American farmers and their communities.