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Miami’s Powerful Foods raises $5 million to accelerate healthy growth

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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Powerful Foods, a Miami-based manufacturer and marketer of all-natural, high-protein foods and beverages designed for those pursuing an active lifestyle, received a $5 million investment from MMG Equity Partners, a private equity investment firm. The investment was made through MMG’s consumer brands investing platform, MMG Consumer Brands.
The good and beverage startup intends to use the funds to expand into additional product categories, continue to grow in the market of high-protein products and launch its Powerful 2.0 platform by accelerating product development, manufacturing, sales, and marketing, Powerful Foods announced Tuesday.
Launched in 2013 by founder and CEO Carlos Ramirez, Powerful Foods is a manufacturer and marketer of all-natural, high-protein foods and beverages designed for those pursuing an active lifestyle. Ramirez, a Venezuelan native who received his MBA from the University of California Berkeley.  was selected by the global organization Endeavor, which supports high-impact entrepreneurship, in 2016 to join the Endeavor network.
“The opportunities for our high-protein, great-tasting offering has expanded greatly as consumers look to incorporate high-protein products into their diets, creating a significant and growing marketplace for our platform,” said Ramirez. “We are thrilled, but not surprised, that a prominent private equity firm like MMG recognizes the tremendous potential of our brand and the passion behind it.”
The brand launched with a lineup of high-protein Greek yogurts before launching its yogurt drink in 2015. A year later, the company launched the Oatmeal, its high-protein, instant oatmeal line, then smoothies, and bites. In the last three years, the company has doubled the number of stores its products are sold in. They are now available at more than 10,000 supermarkets, including Walmart, Stop n’ Shop, Shoprite, Wegmans, Giant, and more and online at Amazon, the company said.
Powerful also raised $4 million in institutional funding in 2018.
 “We partnered with Powerful because we believe in the potential of the brand and the platform Carlos and his team have created. Not only have they proven the ability to disrupt sleepy product categories with unique and innovative products, but they have carved out a niche with a brand that resonates, particularly with the coveted millennial consumer,” said Jon Raccah, director of MMG Equity Partners.
Endeavor Miami studied the ecosystem in 2015 and found that food and beverage was one of five areas that could sizzle for entrepreneurial activity in South Florida because the ingredients were already here: a foodie culture, expertise, a talent base and educational opportunities, as well as a strong healthy and green trend to ride upon. Now,  nearly 20% of  Endeavor Miami’s network is F&B entrepreneurs. 
Follow @ndahlberg on Twitter and email her at [email protected]

Nancy Dahlberg
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