SEATTLE–nutpods, one of the fastest-growing natural food brands in the country, has a new strategic partner in its ongoing mission to convince consumers to rethink their coffee ritual. VMG partners, the private equity firm that specializes in building iconic consumer brands, lead the round which also included current nutpods investors CircleUp Growth Partners and the Sidekick Fund.
“We couldn’t be more excited about this new stage of growth for our company,” says nutpods founder & CEO Madeline Haydon. “VMG is the perfect partner for nutpods given their commitment to supporting first-time entrepreneurs, successfully investing in women-owned businesses and their track record of helping brands scale from ideas into icons.” VMG has had a hand in the success of many mature and emerging food brands including Justin’s, Spindrift, and KIND.
In four short years nutpods has grown to the #3 brand in the exploding plant-based creamer category by cultivating and leveraging a passionate consumer following. Initially launched as a Kickstarter project, the early supporters of the brand have become evangelists for the clean label, Whole30 Approved creamers making nutpods the #1 selling brand on Amazon and fastest growing brand of refrigerated plant-based creamers in national retailers. The brand’s success is driven in part by their unconventional route to market: starting with direct to consumer prior to expanding into traditional grocery sales.
“It’s all about meeting unmet needs for our consumers,” said Haydon. “We may have started as a darkhorse brand in a mature category, but our fans have driven our growth through reviews, recommendations and their loyalty allowing us to expand from 3 to 10 flavors and from D2C to over 15,000 retail accounts. We can’t wait to introduce nutpods to more people.”
About nutpods®
nutpods is an independent, natural foods manufacturer based in Seattle, Washington, dedicated to introducing dairy-free creamers from plant-based ingredients. Introduced in 2015, nutpods quickly found a loyal consumer base with Whole30®, paleo, keto, vegan and vegetarian consumers who appreciate a high quality, plant-based creamer in their coffee and tea. nutpods is sold at retail locations nationwide as well as online.
Visit www.nutpods.com for more information.
About VMG:
VMG Partners invests in emerging, revolutionary brands that address the evolving demands of a passionate consumer base. VMG brings a unique set of value-add resources and capital to early stage and established consumer brands in its core categories of food, beverage, beauty, pet products, and wellness. Representative past and present partner companies include babyganics®, Daily Harvest, Drunk Elephant, Justin’s, KIND Healthy Snacks, Lantana Foods, Natural Balance, Nature’s Bakery, Perfect Bar, Pirate’s Booty, Pretzel Crisps®, Quest, Spindrift, Stone Brewing, Sun Bum, and Vega.
For more information about the fund, please visit www.vmgpartners.com.
