Sunday, March 11, 2018

"Ancient Nutrition Raises $103 Million From 100+ Investors To Heat The Bone Broth Market"

The 'bone broth' market?
I was not aware.

From Forbes:
Ancient Nutrition, a bone broth protein and collagen supplement maker, has secured $103 million in funding through strategic minority investment led by VMG Partners. This funding is also attributed to Hillhouse Capital, ICONIQ Capital and 100+ influential investors across the health food and wellness industries. The company plans to use this funding to "elevate the current team's resources and company growth."

This massive pool of funding has been further hyped by its association to its impressive investors, including:
  • Jillian Michaels
  • Ido Leffler (Co-Founder of Brandless.com)
  • Joey Gonzalez (CEO of Barry's Bootcamp)
  • Gary Hirshberg (Co-Founder and Chairman of Stonyfield Farm)
  • Michael Kirban (Co-Founder and CEO of Vita Coco)
  • Terry Tierney (CEO of Daiya)
This list of industry heavyweights may not be fully surprising considering the high profile backgrounds of Ancient Nutrition's own founders. Co-founded in 2016, Ancient Nutrition is led by Jordan Rubin and Dr. Josh Axe. Rubin previously founded Garden of Life, the leading brand in the U.S. natural supplement industry which was acquired by Nestlé in 2017. Rubin also wrote New York Times best seller The Maker's Diet. Dr. Axe is a natural medicine doctor and the creator of DrAxe.com, one of the most trafficked natural health websites in the world, receiving upwards of 17 million unique visitors monthly. Dr. Axe is also the author of Eat Dirt, a best selling book about leaky gut syndrome.

Ancient Nutrition produces a line of bone broth protein and collagen powders and capsules. Its trademarked Bone Broth Protein is derived solely from chickens. Although their sourced chickens are compliant with the current definition of free-range, its website states that they are seeking stronger regulations on this definition. While its products are non-GMO, the company is currently testing whether its products are also free of antibiotics and growth hormones, as well as working to achieve USDA Certified Organic standards. Ancient Nutrition is currently selling at retailers including Whole Foods and Sprouts.

This round of funding represents a vote of confidence for the developing bone broth market. Although still a niche product, bone broth products have seen impressive sales growth in recent years. According to SPINS, US retail sales of bone broth tripled to $19.7 million in 2016....MORE
I'm going to have to think about this before commenting.