Growth capital provider Sunrise invests in organic snack maker

Boulder, Colorado-based Sunrise Strategic Partners, a provider of growth capital to food and ag companies, has made a minority investment in Pure Growth Organic, a producer of a portfolio of organic snacks.

Sunrise, launched last year, targets businesses with $10 to $20 million of run rate revenue. The Pure Growth investment marks its sixth, following November’s investment into Maple Hill Creamery, a producer of third-party certified 100 percent grass-fed organic dairy items.

Sunrise was co-founded last year by Stephen Hughes, a veteran of the natural and organic food and beverage industry, and private equity firm Trilantic Capital Management, which manages four private equity fund families with aggregate capital commitments of $5.9 billion.

According to the Organic Trade Association, US organic food sales reached $43.3 billion in 2015, marking the largest dollar gain ever of $4.2 billion in 2015, surpassing the $3.9 billion jump recorded in 2014.

Parents in the 18- to 34-year-old age range are now the biggest group of organic buyers in America, and Pure Growth’s snack products, made without additives, chemicals or artificial ingredients, are geared towards children using recognizable children’s movie and television characters, including Mickey Mouse and Captain America.  

“There are limited better-for-you snack products for two- to 12-year-olds, leaving millennial moms with a major vacuum to deal with once their children graduate from organic baby food,” said Hughes in a statement. “As an early mover in affordable organic snacks, Pure Growth is well positioned to participate in continued growth in this market.”