The company remains laser-focused on its
mission of strengthening sustainable organic farming models while
producing premium organic dairy products for consumers.
Straus Family Creamery, known for its minimally processed,
premium organic dairy products and leadership in sustainable
organic farming, today announced that it has secured equity
investment from Grounded Capital, a San Francisco-based investment
firm focused on deploying capital that supports healthy social,
ecological and financial systems. This significant equity
investment provides Straus Family Creamery with the necessary
capital to grow the business and support its mission of sustaining
family farms, revitalizing rural communities, and building a more
regenerative food system.
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For more than 30 years, Straus Family
Creamery has been blazing a trail to support organic dairy farmers
with better practices for the climate, land, animals, and people.
Organic is, and always has been, regenerative. In 2023, Straus
Family Creamery launched an incentive program and road map to help
its supplying dairy farms reach carbon neutrality by 2030. (Photo:
Business Wire)
Over the past year, Straus Family Creamery and Grounded Capital
have collaborated to navigate a transition in leadership. In
January 2024, Mike Scheu was appointed President of Straus Family
Creamery, succeeding Bob McGee, who retired after serving 13 years
with the company. Albert Straus serves as Executive Chairman. As a
result of that successful transition and with the new equity
investment, Grounded Capital’s CEO Stephen Hohenrieder and
Principal William Culler-Chase will join Straus Family Creamery’s
Board of Directors.
“We’re excited to partner with Grounded Capital, who believe in
our mission and care deeply about the future of our farming and
food system,” said Albert Straus, founder of Straus Family
Creamery. “This investment will help us advance our carbon-neutral
farming model, creating resilience in organic dairy farming
operations, and a sustainable pathway for the next generation of
farmers supplying Straus Family Creamery.”
“This is a pivotal moment for Straus Family Creamery,” said Mike
Scheu, President. “We’ve built a strong and collaborative team, we
are well capitalized, and the business is experiencing consistent
growth. I deeply appreciate the collaboration and partnership with
Grounded Capital and look forward to working together in service of
our mission and pursuing growth opportunities in the
marketplace.”
“Working with Albert and the team has provided an opportunity to
observe how important Straus Family Creamery is to the future of
organic dairy farming,” said Stephen Hohenrieder, founder and CEO
of Grounded Capital. “We’re honored to support Albert’s long-term
vision and the company’s mission, and we’re excited about the
potential to offer the company’s products in new stores and
geographic regions over the next several years.”
Aspect Consumer Partners acted as exclusive investment banking
representative to Straus Family Creamery.
About Straus Family Creamery
Based in Petaluma, CA, Straus Family Creamery is a Northern
California certified organic creamery that crafts premium products
with high-quality organic milk and ingredients. Focusing on minimal
processing for superior taste and nutritional integrity, Straus
Family Creamery offers milk, cream, kefir, yogurt, ice cream,
butter, sour cream, and a variety of wholesale and specialty dairy
products sold in the Western United States. Its organic yogurt,
butter, and ice cream are available across expanded regions of the
country.
Straus organic dairy products are made with organic milk
supplied by family farms in Marin and Sonoma Counties, including
the Straus Dairy Farm, the first certified organic dairy farm west
of the Mississippi River. Straus Family Creamery, the first 100
percent certified organic creamery in the United States when it
launched in 1994, continues to make business decisions based on its
mission. For more than 30 years, Straus Family Creamery has been
blazing a trail to forge the transformation of the farming and food
system and to create a replicable model while remaining focused on
the heart of organic farming. Organic farming is, and always has
been, regenerative.
Straus Family Creamery was founded by Albert Straus, a
second-generation dairy farmer and climate action pioneer whose
Straus Dairy Farm is currently on track to implement a
carbon-neutral organic dairy farming model, believed to be the
first of its kind. Straus Family Creamery is collaborating and
innovating with its supplying dairy farms to reach carbon
neutrality by 2030. The family-owned business collaborates with and
advocates for local organic dairy farmers; the farms utilize 100
percent organic practices which regenerate soil through carbon
farming.
Learn more about the Straus difference at
StrausFamilyCreamery.com.
About Grounded Capital
Grounded Capital takes a systems-based and holistic approach to
responsibly grow capital through its investment framework, which
considers five areas of focus: Places, Energy, People, Food, and
Nature. As an SEC-registered investment adviser with approximately
$2 billion in assets under management, Grounded Capital develops
strategies to pursue ideas and solve problems through direct
investments in operating companies, agriculture, forests, and real
estate.
About Aspect Consumer Partners
Aspect Consumer Partners is a consumer-focused advisory firm
with a rich history of working with leading companies and brands
across a number of food, beverage and consumer products categories.
Aspect Consumer Partners acted as exclusive investment banking
representative to Straus Family Creamery.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240717611428/en/
Media Contacts: Straus Family Creamery Meryl Marr, VP Marketing
media@strausfamilycreamery.com Grounded Capital
media@groundedcapital.com