Trilantic Ups Commitment to Brand Investor Sunrise
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Trilantic Ups Commitment to Brand Investor Sunrise

In May 2021, Sunrise closed the sale of Kodiak Cakes, a maker of pancake and waffle mixes, to L Catterton

Sunrise Strategic Partners has announced new equity funding from its partner Trilantic North America.

Boulder, Colorado-based Sunrise is an accelerator of brands in the healthy, active and sustainable food and beverage industry. The firm was founded in 2016 by natural foods entrepreneur Steve Hughes in partnership with Trilantic.

Sunrise has invested in a range of brands and recently completed two exits through the May 2021 sale of Kodiak Cakes, a maker of pancake and waffle mixes, to L Catterton; and the October 2020 initial public offering of Vital Farms (NASDAQ: VITL), a provider of pasture-raised and ethically produced eggs.

Remaining brands in the Sunrise portfolio include Cali’flour Foods (low carb, cauliflower-based foods), Coolhaus (super-premium ice cream), Kill Cliff (performance drinks), Little Secrets (chocolate candies), Maple Hill Creamery (grass-fed dairy products) and Teton Waters Ranch (grass-fed beef products).

“With two successful exits and a portfolio of world-class brands, Sunrise remains well-positioned to continue identifying and accelerating brands in the better-for-you food and beverage space,” said Jamie Manges, a partner at Trilantic. “We look forward to the next phase of our partnership, supporting the next generation of extraordinary founders and scaling their businesses to become category leaders.”

“Our partnership with Trilantic has created a new model for value creation for emerging brands in our sector,” said Mr. Hughes. “The capital, and more importantly growth expertise, we provide is empowering brands to disrupt their categories. We are excited to continue this rewarding partnership with Jamie Manges and the entire Trilantic team.”

The latest round of funding for Sunrise will come from Trilantic’s sixth fund, Trilantic Capital Partners VI (North America) LP, which closed at its hard cap of $2.75 billion in July 2019.

In July, Sunrise hired food and beverage expert Peter Burns as a managing partner. Before joining Sunrise, Mr. Burns led the $397 million sale of low sugar protein bar company ONE to Hershey in 2019, and the $286 million sale of natural nut butter company Justin’s to Hormel in 2016. Earlier in his career, he was president of Celestial Seasonings, a tea brand of Hain Celestial Group.

“Joining Sunrise allows me to live my passion of helping founders and management teams scale their business and create tremendous value,” said Mr. Burns. “Millennial consumers are driving a massive shift from legacy brands to emerging brands that are better aligned with their values. I’m excited to join Sunrise because we are uniquely positioned to partner with these disruptive brands and provide the tools and expertise needed to capitalize on this shift in the industry.”

New York City-based Trilantic invests from $100 million to $300 million of equity in North American companies with enterprise values of $100 million to $1.5 billion. The firm was formed in 2009 by former members of Lehman Brothers Merchant Banking and has raised six private equity funds totaling $9.7 billion in capital commitments

© 2021 Private Equity Professional | August 16, 2021

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