January 30, 2017

Former chief of Nourish Snacks, Zubin Mehta, announced the launch of Born Wild Brands – a new incubator focusing exclusively on partnering with promising food and beverage startups.

The New York-based group includes a team of several veterans of the CPG (consumer packaged goods) sector, as well as former founders, operators, investors and bankers who have a deep understanding of the business spectrum and will take a hands-on approach to work with early-stage entrepreneurs to grow their disruptive brands and achieve long-term success and sustainability. Currently, two advisors include Britt West, former executive with Bacardi and Grey Goose, who will serve as Senior Advisor; and former finance executive, Fred Kulikowski, who will be a key advisor in regard to investment and boards.

“There has never been a better time to launch or build a food and beverage brand, and at the same time, the barriers to entry to start a business have never been lower – resulting in a highly competitive space,” said Founder of Born Wild Brands, Zubin Mehta. “Our goal is to partner with visionary founders and entrepreneurs and provide them with the tools, guidance and a nuanced, in-depth understanding of how the market really works to help them ensure success.”

After receiving his BA in Economics and Philosophy from Columbia College in New York City, Mehta began his career with private equity firm, Lindsay Goldberg & Bessemer and as a M&A investment banker at Warburg Dillon Read. He later went on to become a seed investor at Rethink First and lead director at Revolabs, which was subsequently sold to Yamaha. Most recently, prior to founding Born Wild Brands, Mehta was CEO of Nourish Snacks – a better-for-you brand that grew through a multi-channel strategy of e-commerce, retail, and food service.

“Zubin is a visionary leader, brand builder and investor, who’s sat at every seat of the table and knows what it takes to build a business from the ground up,” said Britt West, Founder of Plus Consulting Corp, Eppa Superfruit Sangria and a Senior Advisor to Born Wild Brands. “His extensive experience and deep passion for the food and beverage space will provide the perfect counsel for entrepreneurs and founders starting out on their journeys.”

Snacking-to-Startups

Aside from the venture capital units being launched by CPG giants including Campbells, General Mills, and Kellogg’s, Mehta is the latest former founder of a successful disruptive food brand to also launch  a food and beverage incubator.

Former managing partner of Wines.com, former president of Viansa Winery, and founder of KRAVE Jerky, Jon Sebastiani, announced in January 2016 the launch of Sonoma Brands – an incubator dedicated to the development of new food brands and the disruption of the packaged consumer foods space.

The formation of Sonoma Brands (named for his hometown) is the next venture for Sebastiani after Hershey agreed to acquire KRAVE in January of 2015 for $220 million. Founded in 2009, Mr. Sebastiani grew KRAVE, which sells specialty meat jerky in flavors such as Chili Lime and Black Cherry BBQ, to sales of $35 million in the year prior to its acquisition.

In an interview with Forbes last year, Sebastiani explained, “Given the massive trends toward more artisanal brands in virtually every category, we’re looking for innovation and newness. We have just an explosion of fantastic entrepreneurs. Clearly, we’re going to go through our own filtration process: First and foremost, are they in a category we can understand and where we can add value… The real intent for me is to be a mentor and really help from an operational standpoint. Our intention is to help them along with an exit in a five to seven-year time window.”

Real Value

Using proprietary financial models, Born Wild Brands aims to guide its portfolio companies on wise budgeting and spending to ensure accountability. The group also will work with its partners to create long-term sales channel strategies, build and position a recognizable and relatable brand, create effective marketing campaigns, develop operations strategies that will support the scaling of a business while minimizing inventory, build a cohesive team, and act to connect and build relationships between its portfolio companies and investors.

“I think the perspective of being on multiple sides of the table is hopefully what will really differentiate us,” Mehta told BevNet. “Taking all of those different hats can give you different perspectives which hopefully can provide some real value to folks.”

-Lynda Kiernan

Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com