New Fare

Congrats to the incredible Hailey Swartz for this recognition on the Inc. Magazine Female Founders 500 list. Hailey, you just make things happen, so this is no surprise! You (+ Jason & Alex) are building a business, Actual Veggies, that we're very proud to champion / eat a ton of every day. New Fare Hallie Bonnar Leland Carter Actual Veggies

The tone in Anaheim reflects the broader cultural moment: unpredictable, uninhibited, with less regard for institutions and increasingly blurred lines. Takeaways from Expo West... Younger brands are leaning on smart, subtle adjustments rather than flashy innovation. I saw cos we follow who made tweaks to pack size, unit count, claims and other small details—less headline-worthy but meaningful. The takeaway: Brands focused on refining the basics, rather than the big splash, are winning. Mistrust in institutions seems to be creeping into CPG. Fewer brands flaunted certifications, and attendees seemed to be turning to back of pack rather than dwelling on the front. The takeaway: People are overwhelmed by symbols and “bureaucracy”. Brands are simplifying while strengthening supply chains. “Better for You” was hardly mentioned. The takeaway: Natural and “better for you” foods are table stakes. This raises the bar for brands competing in conventional retail — there’s no room for self-righteousness or freebies anymore whether incremental or not! (hot take via Brian Rudolph Banza). Innovation is crossing boundaries: is it a sauce, a dressing, a dip — all three? A seltzer, a soda, or a non-alc alternative? The takeaway: Blurred lines are challenging traditional merchandising but align with how Americans—especially younger ones—eat: freely and without labels. This blurring is well-suited to the digital shelf. New Fare Hallie Bonnar Actual Veggies Bachan's Tacombi Mid-Day Squares

That’s a wrap on an exciting week in Anaheim at #ExpoWest2025! It was a great opportunity to connect with founders, investors, and operators in the natural products space. From walking the show floor to catching up with clients and new connections, we valued every conversation. We were also proud to sponsor events that brought industry leaders together, including an incredibly special dinner at Flamingo Estate with Elly Truesdell and Hallie Bonnar at New Fare and Janica Lane at Piper Sandler, as well as Morrison Foerster's Unwind & Connect Happy Hour. A huge thank you to all the incredible sponsors and attendees that made the Expo magic happen. Appreciation goes to Pathstone’s Emily Mears, Cassandra Puhalla, CFA, and Amy Noblin for hosting and representing our team throughout the week. We look forward to continuing the conversations beyond Expo!

The idealists envision AI not just replacing human work but enhancing and optimizing it. We saw this firsthand at National Retail Federation's Big Show on Monday. The most innovative companies tackling retail challenges are boosting productivity and letting store associates do what they do best: selling, educating, and connecting. Here are a few takeaways that left me inspired: Augmodo: I’m incredibly proud of their work in spatial AI, tracking every product in every store in real time. Ross Finman and his team are leveraging cameras to streamline planogram compliance, pricing, and out-of-stock tracking—giving store associates valuable time back. VANISH STANDARD CO., LTD.: Their staff-centric platform empowers retail employees to create authentic employee-generated content (EGC - big in Japan!). It’s a game-changer that could redefine retail. soona: It was great connecting with them in person. We’ve worked with soona at Made by Nacho to generate content quickly and affordably, with our team shaping the final product. Ironically, a big theme this year was the power of people—how the right tools can unlock every retail associate’s full potential. New Fare Hallie Bonnar Lerer Hippeau Simple Food Ventures Made by Nacho soona VANISH STANDARD CO., LTD.

It’s prediction season. Wouldn’t try to predict specifics in 2025 - but have one bet. In-person, carefully curated experiences are more important than ever. We hosted our first event a couple weeks ago at Misi (Grovehouse) in Williamsburg, with Bobby Flay as our special guest. He shared lessons from nearly 40 years in the food and restaurant industry—a great reminder of how much has changed and how the fundamentals still hold true. Our key takeaways: Focus is everything. Take on projects driven by passion. Never cut corners. Surround yourself with great people. Build teams with kindness, integrity, and ambition. Here’s to a dynamic 2025 and more of these special gatherings ahead! New Fare Hallie Bonnar Pathstone Grovehouse Missy Robbins Sean Feeney Emily Mears Cassandra Puhalla, CFA

Congrats to Augmodo, Ross Finman and team on kicking off this partnership with Mercatus Technologies Inc! Excited to see where this technology takes retail and the shopping experience, in the years to come. New Fare Hallie Bonnar Leland Carter https://lnkd.in/eVKmcM-J

I had a healthy debate with this reporter about venture capital’s role in the collapse of many “sustainability-driven” companies. Is it really all on investors for pushing aggressive growth, then jumping ship? I see it differently. Both investors and founders share responsibility in setting clear expectations for growth, timelines, and outcomes. Why take venture dollars if you're not aligned on the end goal? Yes, it’s a problem that many investors flipped their focus to profitability in mid-2022 after years of "growth at all costs", or any loss. But founders have to take responsibility for building healthy, sustainable businesses beyond just media buzz or Instagram followers. Every situation is unique and as you read different accounts of a company's downfall - you can bet there are multiple people to blame. There are bad actors, dysfunctional boards, overly optimistic entrepreneurs, and misaligned investors. The key takeaway: build strong relationships with investors early, align on expectations, and find partners who will stick with you through tough times. New Fare Hallie Bonnar Leland Carter Sriya Koganti Whitney B. https://lnkd.in/edEsF5cb?

We are thrilled to have invested in Augmodo’s seed round, led by Lerer Hippeau, tackling the $1.75 Trillion (!) opportunity that is revenue lost to out of stocks, preventable returns, and overstocks. We invested for so many reasons: incredible founder, their tech, great syndicate of investors - but there was also some lived experience that got me especially excited about this business. Working in stores at Whole Foods Market over 15 years ago I watched and felt the inefficiencies of grocery. Every quarter we would stay in stores til 2 or 3am counting inventory by hand. Hundreds of team members manually counting boxes of cereal, supplements, peanut butter, til the wee hours of the morning.?(just one example) As an investor, I’ve seen retail tech “solutions” proposed that are wildly expensive, require significant labor, and that jeopardize the customer experience. So many of these pitches completely overlook how demanding the workload is at the store level, how difficult it is to overcome these manual processes, and were never compelling to me as a former operator. When Ross Finman pitched us on Augmodo, I could immediately see this was different. Their spatial computing technology provides a seamless solution that requires no additional work from retail teams, and utilizes their movements in stores to collect valuable data. Their SmartBadge technology will be a game changer for grocery - identifying out of stocks and informing e-commerce ordering in real time, as store associates walk the floor. In good company with dunnhumby and Simple Food Ventures. Can’t wait to see where this technology goes, congrats team!! New Fare Hallie Bonnar Ben Lerer Isabelle Phelps Ross Finman https://lnkd.in/gtZstTKf

Thrilled to partner with Ross Finman and the Augmodo team as they bring Spatial #AI and much needed #techenablement to #retail shelves. cc: Elly Truesdell Hallie Bonnar

Couldn't be more excited to welcome Laura Zhang to the New Fare team as a Summer MBA Associate! Laura was most recently a senior analyst in Citi's #IB division and will be pursuing her #MBA at The Wharton School this fall with a focus on #entrepreneurship and #innovation. Laura is looking forward to leveraging her finance experience and passion for startups as she transitions to the #VC world. She is incredibly excited to work alongside the team at New Fare and learn more about emerging #CPG companies and how new consumer trends are taking shape. In Laura's free time, she enjoys running, baking, and muay thai. Laura is also always on the hunt for fun new recipes and foods,?and looking forward to finding lots of inspiration this summer!