BOULDER, Colo. — BFG Partners, a venture capital firm specializing in early-stage food, beverage and consumer products, completed the sale of Denver-based Birch Benders, to Sovos Brands, a food company backed by private equity firm Advent International. Birch Benders offers better-for-you pancake mixes, frozen waffles and baking solutions for consumers of all ages. Birch Benders is led by founders, Matt LaCasse and Lizzi Ackerman, who started the brand eight years ago as a healthy and easy solution to breakfast on their camping trips. Today, Birch Benders is the fastest growing pancake and waffle brand in grocery and their products can be found in stores nationally as well as online.
“Working with Matt, Lizzi and the Birch Benders team for the last six years has been rewarding both personally and professionally. We were lucky to partner with Birch Benders as a very early-stage company and have been impressed by their brand vision, thoughtful innovation and the ability to champion an exceptional leadership team,” said Tom Spier, Founder and Managing Partner of BFG Partners. “We are thrilled to have Sovos Brands on board to further Birch Benders’ mission to fill consumer’s days with stacks of fun.”
Since partnering with BFG in early 2015, monthly sales for Birch Benders have increased more than 100 times as its product set expanded from five pancake mix SKUs to over 20 SKUs across three grocery categories. Birch Benders grew 139% year-over-year as of July with growth driven by MULO sales.1 Additionally, the company grew from three employees at the time of BFG’s first investment to nearly 30 today.
About BFG Partners
BFG Partners is a venture capital firm that seeks partnerships with early-stage consumer product companies whose products do better for people and the planet. BFG aims to work alongside exceptional entrepreneurs to foster sustainable growth and outperformance in categories across food, beverage and consumer products. In addition to providing portfolio companies with capital, BFG provides teams with the advice needed to make critical decisions and maximize opportunities. This advice spans operational strategy, tactical marketing, channel development, organizational design and capital planning. BFG Partners is based in Boulder, CO.
www.bfgpartners.com/
About Birch Benders
Founded in 2011 and backed by Boulder Food Group, Birch Benders is the number one pancake & waffle mix brand in the natural channel nationally. In addition to its flagship just-add-water pancake & waffle mixes, Birch Benders offers a suite of products including frozen toaster waffles and microwaveable pancake and baking cups. All of the brand’s products are naturally delicious, easy-to-make, and utilize high-quality ingredients. The brand believes that the best moments in life are spent around the table, which inspired CEO and founder, Matt LaCasse, and his wife, co-founder and CMO, Lizzi Ackerman, to carefully craft their recipes through months of painstaking, double-blind taste tests. This process ensures that every ingredient is the best on the planet, and their combinations and proportions are true culinary poetry. www.birchbenders.com/
About Sovos Brands
Sovos Brands is a food company with a mission to acquire and build one-of-a-kind brands that bring today’s consumers delicious food for joyful living. Sovos Brands invests in brands that have exciting growth potential, combining industry expertise with fresh thinking to bring its products into more homes across America. The brands in its portfolio include Rao’s, a line of premium pasta sauces, soups, frozen entrées and dry pasta; noosa, a producer of thick, velvety whole milk yoghurt; and Michael Angelo’s, a leading producer of authentic frozen Italian entrées.
For further inquiries, please contact Meg Legro (meg@bfgpartners.com)
1 Year-over-year growth as of last SPINS reporting period (7/12/20).
