Boulder Investment Group Reprise raises $55M for new natural-products fund

BOULDER – Boulder Investment Group Reprise – led by the trio that managed an investment arm of Boulder Brands before that company was acquired by Pinnacle Foods – has raised just more than $55 million for a new fund that will invest in natural products startups across the United States.

Presence Marketing CEO Bill Weiland and former Boulder Brands execs Carole Buyers and Duane Primozich are managing the new fund, dubbed BIGR Ventures LP. The group had previously run Boulder Brands Investment Group LLC, formed in 2013 to invest in early-stage natural and organic foods companies and leverage Boulder Brands’ infrastructure to accelerate their growth.

Weiland, Buyers and Primozich formed the new fund in December, closing an initial tranche of $18 million that month and making three initial investments in January.

Primozich said in an interview that the new fund will take minority stakes in emerging companies with annual revenue of between $1 million and $15 million. While much of the focus will be on natural and organic foods, he said the fund will also look at other natural products companies.

“It continues the momentum that was created in that first fund,” Primozich said, noting that there are no ties between the two funds other than the people running them. “Having Bill Weiland in the fund allows us to flex the muscle of the largest natural foods broker in the U.S.”

BIGR Ventures has deployed $6 million so far through investments in Louisville-based Hope Foods; Carlsbad, Calif.-based Bonafide Provisions; and Austin, Texas-based Live Beverages. Primozich said the plan is to make a couple of more investments before the end of the year.

The overall plan is to invest the full $55 million in seven to 10 portfolio companies over a five-year period. Primozich said that means investing not only in those startups’ Series A rounds but also providing capital for subsequent rounds.

According to a regulatory filing, the minimum investment in BIGR Ventures was $1 million. Primozich characterized the participants as a combination of individual investors, natural foods luminaries and institutional investors.

BIGR will be headquartered in Boulder, with Primozich and Buyers running the day-to-day operations. Buyers, a former Wall Street analyst, most recently served as senior vice president of investor relations and business development for Boulder Brands in addition to managing the BBIG fund. Primozich previously served as executive vice president and general manager of Boulder Brands’ Balance brand and has spent his entire career starting, operating and advising natural foods companies.

Weiland, meanwhile, will remain as CEO of Presence Marketing, which he founded in 1990. Primozich said Weiland will have a big hand in innovation and deal flow for the BIGR fund. He said Presence Marketing plays a major role in getting young natural foods brands a foothold in grocery stores and other retail spaces, making Weiland’s participation in BIGR particularly key.

“We establish relationships with these startups very early,” Primozich said. “We do have a sort of unique and proprietary deal flow that I think gives us an advantage in the marketplace.”

The BBIG fund at Boulder Brands included in its portfolio Suja Juice, which ended up partnering with Coca Cola, and Epic Bar, which was acquired by General Mills.

Primozich said a major goal of the new fund will be to seek out companies with a mission that defines success broadly across a variety of stakeholders, including the company, customers and investors.

“Between the three of us we’re able to help these companies across every function in the organization in an intimate way,” Primozich said. “The ability to do what we’ve been doing our whole careers, have a lot of fun, and create success among all those stakeholders is really gratifying.”

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