Spring, summer NCN events showcase innovation and brand savvy

Nutrition Capital Network (NCN) hosted two successful events this spring and summer, a pair of deep dives into the natural and organic products industry investment landscape that yielded a wealth of valuable insights and fostered fresh connections among stakeholders.

The Spring Investor Meeting, a two-day series of presentations and networking opportunities in New York City, introduced the investment community to a wide range of companies that are witnessing brand success as they engage with the dynamic industry and its consumers. More than 70 registered investors participated.

Each of the 16 startups that presented to investors during the event offered detailed and strong data for why their brand deserves funding. Among them, five brands fixed on the beverage category, which grows increasingly effervescent with activity with every passing quarter.

Beverage plays included a brand leveraging North America’s only plant that contains caffeine, yaupon, for its product lineup. Another growing brand crafts ready-to-drink beverages that are bright with hop flavor, making them strong candidates for the surging non-alcoholic movement. A sports recovery drink; a women-owned RTD fermented tea; and a honey-sweetened beverage rounded out the beverage brands. No other category contained as many entrants.

Meanwhile, other brands offered novel products that in some cases filled marketplace voids. One company, for example, manufactures energizing eye drops that aim to mitigate eye fatigue. As people increasingly spend more time staring at screens, eye fatigue has become a notable health challenge—and to date, few products have proven effective at combating eye fatigue.

Other brands presented entrants into buzzy industry niches, such as personalized medicine that leverages AI; sleep supplements; products that lean into hemp cannabinoids; gummies flooded with functional fungus botanicals; toxin-free indulgences including brownies and functional truffles; and supplements that turn to nutraceutical ingredients to help promote weight loss.

NCN Europe returns

At the one-day Europe Investor Meeting in May—the first NCN Europe meeting since COVID—15 brands representing a diversity of markets pitched to investors. And where beverage plays comprised about a third of the brands at the Spring Investor Meeting in New York, only one beverage—a sports nutrition brand— presented at the Switzerland meeting. Instead, nutraceutical pitches dominated the packed meeting, which took place during the nutraceutical trade show Vitafoods Europe in Geneva.

Brand offerings included products and services aimed at achieving beauty from within through the consumption of peptides; the freeze-drying of ingredients for use in supplements; the use of AI and health tech to personalize supplements for consumers; the exploitation of eggshell membranes for cosmetics and beauty products and the manufacturing of novel sleep nutraceuticals.

Functional mushrooms made an appearance in Geneva, as did several companies using AI for the sake of both personalized medicine and product R&D. One presenting company creates plant ingredients—without relying on plants. Another uses cellular technology to create chocolate products—without sourcing chocolate.

The busy pair of events showcased for investors the extent of keen innovation and momentum that still electrifies the industry—despite the slowdown in investment activity. The ratcheting back of capital infusions for the past two years has struck nearly every industry, as historically high interest rates have forced investors to exercise extreme caution. While capital may not be flowing at the same rate as it was in 2021, it’s not stopping savvy entrepreneurs and brands from moving ahead with R&D and creating products that fill needs in the marketplace.

Looking ahead, NCN is hosting an informal meeting at Newtopia Now in Denver in August. Following that, in October, NCN will hold its annual investor and partner meeting at SupplySide West in October.