Venture Capital News: Country Archer Raises Second Round
2017-07-21
SAN BERNARDINO, CA, Natural grocery channel's #1 top-selling and fastest-growing jerky brand announced the closing of a significant second round capital raise with Monogram Capital Partners.
Country Archer Jerky Co., the Natural grocery channel's #1 top-selling and fastest-growing jerky brand announced the closing of a significant second round capital raise with Monogram Capital Partners, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm focused on consumer and retail investments. The deal is a follow-on from Monogram's initial capital investment in March 2016.
Country Archer's "More meat. Less bull. No Junk" product formulations have proven to be a winning recipe for the emerging brand known for its better-for-you jerky, meat-based Frontier Bars, and new Paleo Certified meat sticks-all made with 100% grass-fed beef and antibiotic/hormone-free turkey.
One of the only vertically-integrated emerging meat snacks brands, Country Archer continues to leverage its proprietary manufacturing processes and high quality product formulations. The brand will use this latest round of funding to further expand production capabilities, acquire additional high octane talent and continue the development of innovative product lines that build upon its growth as an emerging leader in the meat snacks category.
"Snacking is on the rise and our existing products and innovation pipeline is well-aligned with the growing demand for healthy, and convenient prep-free protein," said Country Archer CEO and Co-founder Eugene Kang. "We're acquiring key accounts that are committed to growing with us, and I'm confident in our team, business model and shared values with Monogram Capital."
According to SPINS data, Country Archer recently surpassed Krave as the #1 top-selling jerky brand in the Natural grocery channel, following 157% year over year sales growth. The brand is also the channel's fastest growing, currently outpacing the next 15 brands combined in absolute dollar growth year over year. Country Archer has secured nationwide distribution with Starbucks and is expanding into the Canadian market. The emerging brand is resonating consistently across channels as convenience and club retailers take notice of its market-leading sales velocities. Country Archer recently gained distribution into 1,500 7-Eleven stores and continues its expansion into key regions with Costco following strong test market success.
"Country Archer's relentless focus on quality as one of the only vertically integrated self-manufacturers in the space has set the brand apart from other meat snack competitors, cementing its position as the brand of choice for retailers and customers alike across channels," said Monogram Capital Partner Founder and Partner, Jared Stein. "We couldn't be more excited to expand our partnership with Eugene and his team as the company enters this next phase of growth and innovation."
Country Archer products are available nationwide at fine retailers including Kroger, Albertsons, Starbucks, Costco, Sprouts Farmers Market, The Fresh Market, Gelson's, New Seasons, Meijer, Fairway and more. For more information, visit www.countryarcher.com.
About Country Archer
Country Archer Jerky Co. is the leading producer of gourmet meat snacks-jerky, Frontier Bar, and meat sticks-made with high-quality, premium and clean ingredients. For over 40 years, the brand has remained true to the original hand-crafted recipes featuring gourmet cuts of extra-lean, USDA-inspected 100% grass-fed beef, anti-biotic and hormone free turkey, as well as locally sourced, mostly organic ingredients, free of artificial ingredients or preservatives. By creating its jerky in its very own manufacturing facility, the brand keeps a close eye on every aspect of the culinary process, ensuring the finest quality meat snacks are available to consumers. From the adventurer, the busy parent, to the everyday athlete and more, Country Archer offers a complete line of authentic jerky in satisfying flavors like Original Beef, Teriyaki, Sweet JalapeƱo Beef, Sriracha Beef, Mango Habanero Beef, Crushed Red Pepper Beef, Hickory Smoke Turkey and Honey Dijon Turkey in addition to its newest line of meat-based protein bars-Frontier Bar. Country Archer products are available nationwide at fine retailers including Kroger, Albertsons, Starbucks, Costco, Sprouts, The Fresh Market, Gelson's, New Seasons, Meijer, Fairway and more. For more information, visit www.countryarcher.com.
About Monogram Capital Partners
Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA and founded in 2014, Monogram Capital focuses exclusively on investing in emerging consumer and retail brands through both minority growth and control transactions. The firm seeks opportunities to partner with founders and strong management teams, investing $5-30 million of equity per transaction. The follow-on investment into Country Archer represents the firm's eleventh investment across seven platform portfolio companies over the past three years.
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