After about three months of 2023, if you were thinking the one thing missing from my life is some more intel on the food and beverage (“F&B”) commercial real estate (“CRE”) market, don't worry, we got you!

Starting with this issue, my partner, Ted Simpson, and I will be sending an easily digestible monthly newsletter focused on, you guessed it - the F&B industry and commercial real estate.

Whenever there’s an intersection of F&B and CRE, we aim to bring it to you.

Btw, if this isn't for you, simply reply to this email with the word "Stop" or unsubscribe below. Otherwise, let's get to it!

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Recent Real Estate Highlights

Typically, these highlights will be a recap of the last month or so, but given this is the first issue, we thought it important to catch everyone up-to-date on some of the more notable happenings over the last nine months.

1. Oats Overnight has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round. Oats Overnight is building an 85,000 SF production and fulfillment center in Phoenix to accommodate its 250-person staff. The company said it is on a $100 million gross revenue run rate but is just scratching the surface in retail, with just 2,500 doors. (source: FoodBusinessNews.net)

2. Boulder, Colorado, headquartered Meati Foods has opened a new production facility in Thornton, CO, that the company has dubbed its “mega ranch.” The facility, which is expected to have a production capacity in the tens of millions of pounds by the end of the year, was built with money raised last year in $150 million in a Series C round led by investor Revolution Growth LLC. The round elevated Meati’s total fundraising beyond $250 Million. (source: Business Wire)

3. After raising $22 million from investors, including True Ventures, Leaps by Bayer, Collaborative Fund, Firstminute, Green Monday and Starlight, new cultured meat company Fork and Good is opening its pilot plant in Jersey City, NJ. The company will initially focus on cultured ground pork and plans to expand to other meats. (source: Local Today)

4. Bonumose, Inc. has opened a new manufacturing and research and development facility in Charlottesville. The 50,000-square-foot facility is dedicated to the production of tagatose, a “rare sugar,” for use in a range of food and beverage products. (source: PR Newswire)

5. Next Level Burger, the nation’s first 100% plant-based burger joint chain, has successfully raised a $20 million funding round. The capital infusion helps support Next Level Burger’s execution of its national expansion plans, which consists of quadrupling its current store count nationwide by the end of 2025, and accelerating the brand’s long-term goal of opening 1,000 units. (source: Business Wire)

6. San Francisco-based food technology startup Black Sheep Foods has raised $12.3 million in a Series A funding round to scale the production of plant-based meat alternatives. Leading the Series A funding round was Unovis, an early backer of Oatly and Beyond Meat, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, AgFunder, and K/BW Ventures. (source: MEAT + POULTRY)

7. Cultivated meat company Mosa Meat is scaling up its production with an expansion of its pilot facility in Maastricht, The Netherlands, to 77,000 square feet. Near its existing pilot facility, Mosa Meat is building a new industrial production development center. After practicing the beef cultivation process on a small scale, Mosa Meat said it is ready for the next phase of expansion, housing industrial-size production lines and enabling larger production quantities of beef. (source: vegconomist)

What I’m Reading (and Enjoying!)

I’m sure you’ve read some of these pieces, but just in case, I found these share-worthy.

1. Self-manufacturing is a hot topic these days, and this aptly named article - Taking manufacturing into your own hands - from Food Business News talks about the pros and cons companies are experiencing by bringing manufacturing in-house.

2. Market research from Verve has revealed some of the food trends taking TikTok by storm and how the industry may leverage the platform for commercial success. How the ‘gritty honesty’ of TikTok may help transform food and beverage

3. As the global markets recalibrate, food tech investing continues to evolve. I thought these two articles did a good job of looking further inside the capital allocation numbers.

That's it. That's the inaugural F&B newsletter. We have plenty of ideas, but we are open to suggestions, so if you want us to look into something, send us a note.

And, as always, we're here to help you with your real estate needs.

Best,

Erik Stiebel
424-241-4795
[email protected]
DRE License #02080746