There’s another food tech venture capital firm entering the Los Angeles scene. Last month, Pasadena-based Supply Change Capital Management LLC closed its $40 million debut fund.
Supply Change Capital is owned by managing partners Noramay Cadena and Shayna Harris; they join the 16.1% of decision makers in venture capital who are women, according to PitchBook data.
Their firm was the second Los Angeles-based venture to announce capital commitments for startups in the food industry this summer. In June, Joyful Ventures LP, a firm operating out of West Hollywood, debuted a $23 million fund targeting companies in the protein alternative space.
“Food is top of mind to so many Angelenos,” said Noramay, who is a Los Angeles native. “As I experience changing weather, as I experience food shortages, as I live through this, I’m thinking about what our food system needs to look like to feed 10 billion people.”
Supply Change began fundraising in 2021, and over two years brought on limited partners including General Mills Inc.’s venture arm 301 INC and J.P. Morgan Asset Management Inc.
Supply Change has invested $13 million in 15 early-stage food and agriculture tech companies so far, including Chicago-based seafood alternative producer AquaCultured Foods Inc. and San Fracnisco-based biomanufacturing company Michroma Corp., which is developing food coloring and ingredients from fungi.
Unlike other investors, who focus on either the supply side or the consumer-facing product, Supply Change has investments in both. According to Cadena, this strategy allows the firm to have a full scope of the food system’s pain points, and how their money can ultimately change it.
“When we started chatting with investors, they said, ‘you should really think about being either a consumer fund or a tech fund. It’s hard to do both,’” Cadena said.
Supply Change Capital aims to invest in 25 companies with this fund and plans to start building out its second fund early next year. With each deal, the general partners offer a six-month executive coaching program, in which founders in the fund’s cohort learn management and leadership skills.
With 80% of its portfolio led by Latino, Black, women or underrepresented founders, Supply Change investment philosophy puts a product’s culture as one of its core pillars.
Cadena said building companies that reflects a changing consumer demographic and highlights advancements in different cultures’ foods is key to reaching mass market appeal.
“What we’ve seen happen within our portfolio is that when you lead with culture and that level of authenticity, the adoption from the initial target market is high,” Cadena said. “It has this reverberating effect.”
