Supply Change Capital Closes Debut $40M Fund to Invest in the Future of Food

Supply Change Capital, a pioneering venture capital firm focused on the future of food, has announced the successful close of its inaugural $40M Fund. As one of the largest Latina-led US-based funds in the industry, the firm has already invested over $13 million in 15 early-stage food and agriculture technology companies since June 2021. The portfolio includes companies in deep tech food, agriculture, ingredients, supply chain technology, and enterprise software.

The venture capital arm of General Mills, 301 INC’s managing director, Johnny Tran, praised Supply Change Capital’s impact, stating, “Supply Change Capital represents the future of food and the venture industry. As a leading investment firm in early stage food and agriculture technology companies, Supply Change Capital has a pulse on the cultural, demographic, and sustainability shifts needed to usher in the next wave of groundbreaking innovations for our industry.”

Several prominent institutions have invested as Limited Partners in Supply Change Capital, including 301 INC, MassMutual through its First Fund Initiative, the Office of the Illinois Treasurer through the Illinois Growth and Innovation Fund, Bank of America, Illumen Capital’s Catalyst Fund, and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. This female and Latina-owned venture capital firm stands out as a rarity in the industry, where female venture capital decision-makers make up only 16.1%, and Latina/Latino venture capitalists account for just 2% according to Pitchbook and LatinxVC reports, respectively.

Noramay Cadena, Founder and Managing Partner of Supply Change Capital, expressed her enthusiasm about the transformative potential of their investments, stating, “From our intersectional set of investors to our robust portfolio, we’ve seated a venture firm platform that can endure and thrive. Ultimately, each LP, founder, and stakeholder in our community understands the same thing we do: we are on the precipice of a transformative change at the intersection of food, culture, and technology. With 40 years of combined operating and investing experience, we’ll be the team leading investments through this evolution to a more inclusive and sustainable food system.”

Supply Change Capital is led by two industry veterans, Noramay Cadena and Shayna Harris, who met during business school at MIT Sloan in 2009. With four degrees from MIT and a Fulbright Scholarship between them, the partners have an impressive track record with over 100 investments to date. Cadena, a mechanical engineer, shifted from bringing complex space programs to market at Boeing to venture capital in 2015, while Harris brings valuable food industry expertise with her C-Suite executive leadership and strategy experience in fast-growth food and software startups, along with a tenure as a global lead for sourcing and impact at Mars.

Their investment strategy revolves around identifying overlooked and underinvested trends impacting the $10 trillion global food industry. The Supply Change portfolio highlights the importance of investing with a sustainability, health, and diversity lens in the food and agriculture industry. Remarkably, 100% of the portfolio companies have positive impacts on environmental, health, and/or diversity outcomes, with 73% focused on positive environmental outcomes related to the atmosphere, soil health, biodiversity, and/or water. Furthermore, 60% of the portfolio offers products and services to improve health.

One of the portfolio companies, Hyfé, a biotechnology company repurposing food processing wastewater to alternative feedstocks for biomanufacturing, praised Supply Change Capital as an instrumental partner since their pre-seed round, highlighting the valuable expertise and support provided by Noramay and Shayna.