GOOD PLANeT Closes $12MM Series A Funding Round
GOOD PLANeT Foods, known for plant-based cheeses, announced on May 26 that it has raised $12MM in a Series A funding round. The funding round was led by Cleveland Avenue and joined by GreatPoint Ventures, Tasseo Consumer, Stray Dog Capital and Lever VC. The most recent round of funding will support GOOD PLANeT Foods’ continued growth within the industry.
From its inception, GOOD PLANeT Foods has launched a new brand of tasty cheeses and has helped to bring more awareness and accessibility to the plant-based foods category. The brand has successfully expanded its selection of products that are free of common allergens and address many of today’s most prominent dietary restrictions. These non-GMO, vegan, kosher and halal certified products are now available at major retailers nationwide, such as Walmart, Costco, Wegmans, ShopRite, Safeway, Price Chopper, Whole Foods and Bristol Farms.
In announcing the Series A funding, David Israel, Founder and CEO of GOOD PLANeT Foods stated, “Our mission continues to be developing great tasting cheeses that are ‘good for you and good for the planet’. We are gaining significant momentum and will continue to play a significant role in increasing awareness of the plant-based foods category. By partnering with these strategic investors, we’ll be able to move forward more aggressively with additional focus on product development, sales and marketing.”
“Consumers are expecting great-tasting foods that also support environmental sustainability. GOOD PLANeT Foods delivers on those expectations,” said Don Thompson, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Cleveland Avenue. “We’re excited to partner with GOOD PLANeT Foods and this impressive group of investors to continue to build on this growth opportunity in the plant-based category.”
“It’s exciting to be able to help fuel a brand’s success,” added Ray Lane, Managing Partner of GreatPoint Ventures. “Based on our experience with consumer trends in other segments of the plant-based category, GOOD PLANeT certainly has the potential to become a leading influential brand. We’re looking forward to encouraging big things from this company.”
To learn more about GOOD PLANeT Foods, visit https://goodplanetfoods.com, and for more information about Cleveland Avenue, visit http://www.clevelandavenue.com.
Coffee Fest Chicago Cancelled
The 2020 Coffee Fest Chicago, that had been rescheduled to take place August 28-20, 2020 at the Navy Pier, in Chicago, Illinois, is now cancelled.
The 2020 Coffee Fest PNW, scheduled to take place October 24 and 25 at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center in Tacoma, Washington, is still scheduled to occur.
Coffee Fest events scheduled for 2021 are also unaffected. They include:
2021 Coffee Fest New York, March 7-9 at the Javits Center in New York, New York; 2021 Coffee Fest San Antonio, June 18 and 19 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio, Texas; and 2021 Coffee Fest Anaheim, August 22-24, 2021 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.
In the meantime, Coffee Fest producers say they are committed to providing you with tools to connect and rebuild your businesses. The team has been working tirelessly on ways the Coffee Fest can help you showcase product, meet with buyers, and experience the show elements you have come to know and love, and the shows’ producers continue to support the marketplace with a COVID-19 Resource Center.
The Resource Center is an online platform easily accessed through all of the Clarion Food & Beverage websites, providing you with access to both unique content and aggregated education focused on your most relevant needs, association resources, industry links and more. Access it at www.foodandbevshows.com.
In addition, specialty coffee focused resources can be found at www.coffeefest.com/resources.
ACS Conference Goes Virtual
The American Cheese Society has announced plans to take this summer’s annual meeting online for the first time ever. “The ACS virtual conference experience will be designed to create the same sense of education and community that our industry has come to know and enjoy each and every year since ACS’ founding in 1983,” the association said in its announcement. The virtual conference will be held July 23-25.
The event is intended to provide information and a collective sense of camaraderie to keep a spirit of innovation going for the industry. Additional details and a full line-up for the conference will be announced early this summer on the association’s website.
