All in Healthy Lifestyles
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Richmond-based venture capital firm NRV has made investments in two companies — a Norfolk-based startup that makes software for industrial robotics, and a Nashville-based company that specializes in making nutritional frozen foods.
The Counter
Rather than make the expensive upgrades required by big poultry companies, some chicken farmers let their barns fall out of use. Shenandoah Valley Organic sees a business opportunity in all that neglected infrastructure.
VegNews
Snack brand Beanfields develops “Vegan Cracklins,” its first non-chip product, in two bold flavors.
Business Wire
HARRISONBURG, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shenandoah Valley Organic (SVO) announced it closed a $15 million funding round led by NRV with participation from Open Prairie, as well as existing investors S2G Ventures and Middleland Capital’s VTC Innovation Fund.
PR Newswire
Manna Tree Partners, a Vail, CO-based asset manager that invests growth capital in companies that produce, process and distribute healthy food, today announced it has closed a growth investment in Nutriati, a Richmond, VA-based developer and manufacturer of plant-based ingredients, including protein, flour and oil.
Forbes
"One health-conscious brand aiming to reverse [poor nutrition] is Territory Foods, a meal delivery service dedicated to fueling corporations across its footprint with 'intentional eating.' Territory Food defines intentional eating as purposefully choosing foods that nourish and energize your body."
Food Navigator
"High profile brands such as Ripple and Beyond Meat have raised the profile of yellow peas in the meat and dairy alternative categories. But chickpea protein can give peas and other plant-based proteins a serious run for their money in both of these segments, claims Virginia-based Nutriati."
Morning Chalk Up
"Territory is a meal delivery company that uses creative local chefs and licensed nutritionists for clean eats that they drop off at your box or deliver to your doorstep."
FORBES
"The accelerator, which the M&M’s maker launched at the Natural Products Expo West 2019 in March, is designed to help food startups 'fast track growth and live their purpose to build a healthier and more sustainable future,' according to a prepared statement."
Eater DC
"At a time when demand for Eric Adjepong’s cooking has never been higher, it’s been nearly impossible for the average person to taste it. That has changed — at least for a few weeks — because the Top Chef star has collaborated with workout warrior-targeted delivery service Territory Foods to sell containers of roasted chicken jollof rice across in all of the company’s four markets."
Bloomberg
"Younger Americans voting with their feet are most heavily favoring moves to New Haven-Milford, Connecticut and Madison, Wisconsin, according to the National Association of Realtors."
Food + Tech Connect
"Building a supply chain for under utilized crops is complicated. It takes building trust with farmers, distribution infrastructure and consumer demand, all while navigating crop cycles, consistency, cost and fair trade practices..Casey Emmett, director of strategic sales at Health Warrior (recently acquired by PepsiCo) [on] how the chia brand built its initial supply chain for the crop, which at the time was under utilized."
Taste Radio
"'Whether it’s food or beverage, in our world, in the CPG world, it’s a romance industry,' [CEO Arnold Ventura] said. 'And you win a consumer one bag at a time, one bottle at a time.'"
Richmond Times Dispatch
"Richmond-based nutrition bar maker Health Warrior Inc., has been acquired by food and beverage behemoth PepsiCo. The deal for the maker of chia seed-based snack bars and related plant-based food products will help push Pepsi further into a category of selling more nutritious foods as the company responds to shifting consumers tastes."
Forbes
"Health Warrior is a seven-year-old, high-growth and plant-based superfood company based in Richmond, Virginia that might be best known for popularizing chia seeds in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) space."
WRIC
RICHMOND, Va. — A local company making products from superfoods is cultivating quite a following. Health Warrior is one of the fastest growing companies out there and it’s all thanks to an ancient seed.
“You’re no longer a Division I athlete, you are lucky if you squeeze in a 30-minute run,” says Health Warrior CEO Shane Emmett. “You actually have to start paying attention to what you eat if you want to feel good.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch
“'Territory is at the convergence between technology and healthy lifestyles, and we love that,' said Ted Chandler, co-founder and managing director of NRV. 'Territory is right at that inflection point of bringing choice to health-conscious eaters, where they can get delicious meals that are prepared with the knowledge that the ingredients will fit their health objectives.'”
Click here to view additional press in Digital Trends.
Hackernoon
"A Day 1 city, much like a startup, doesn’t have to know all the answers in order to be successful. Sometimes it just has to decide and commit."
Food Navigator USA
"After announcing the funding round – supported by London-based Tate & Lyle Ventures, L.A-based PowerPlant Ventures, Virginia-based NRV, and San Francisco-based Blueberry Ventures - Nutriati co-founder Mike Spinelli said the protein had unique functional properties that opened up application opportunities in everything from gluten-free baked goods to meat and dairy alternatives, ice cream and pasta."
Click here to view additional press in the Richmond Times Dispatch.