Agriculture investor Paine Schwartz Partners is bolstering its presence in the better-for-you food and beverage sector. The private equity firm has unveiled the launch of BetterCo Holdings, a strategic portfolio platform within its Food Chain Fund VI. This fund, initiated in 2022, reached a final close the following year at approximately $1.7 billion. As a PE leader focused on sustainable food chain investments, Paine Schwartz established BetterCo to consolidate a cohort of high-growth companies targeting downstream segments of the evolving food and beverage landscape.
Among its initial investments are Crisp, an innovative commerce intelligence and AI platform deployed throughout the global food supply chain, and Lucky Energy, a rapidly expanding player in the better-for-you energy drink market.
BetterCo Holdings is Paine Schwartz Partners’ dedicated platform for investing in the most promising high-growth companies across the downstream food and beverage landscape, with a clear lens on better-for-you innovation. The new investment vehicle draws on Paine Schwartz’s deep track record in health- and sustainability-driven investments. The firm already owns a strong collection of downstream brands, like Promix, Suja Life and Urban Farmer, as well as leading software and services businesses such as FoodChain ID, Registrar and Chex Finer Foods. BetterCo now brings these capabilities together under one umbrella to propel the companies that will shape the next generation of the category.
At its core, BetterCo is about partnering with founders and teams who are changing the way better-for-you food and beverages are developed, distributed, and experienced by consumers. By pairing patient, intentional capital with decades of operational expertise, BetterCo is designed to help these businesses scale quickly, operate more efficiently, and reach more people while staying true to their missions of health, wellness and sustainability.
Paine Schwartz Partners CEO Kevin Schwartz explained,“BetterCo reflects our continued focus on investing in companies that are reshaping the food and beverage landscape through innovation, sustainability and a commitment to health and wellness. Lucky and Crisp exemplify our strategy of supporting businesses that deliver healthier products and smarter systems for the global food chain. Both offer compelling opportunities to scale proven models in the growing better-for-you and technology-enabled segments of the downstream food value chain. We look forward to partnering with their exceptional management teams and to expanding BetterCo with additional high-quality opportunities already in our pipeline.”
As one of BetterCo Holdings’ first two investments, Crisp is an AI-driven commerce intelligence platform that connects brands, retailers and distributors to deliver real-time transparency across the food supply chain. The platform harnesses data integration and automation to help customers slash waste, prevent low inventory and strengthen overall operations, serving more than 7,000 companies and retailers in this category with a growing set of AI tools built for efficiency and sustainability. BetterCo’s investment supports the commercialization of Crisp’s new AI agents, market expansion and margin improvements.
As the second of BetterCo Holdings’ investments, Lucky Energy is a better-for-you energy drink brand that offers zero-sugar, zero-calorie options created with natural caffeine, providing energy without artificial ingredients. The brand has expanded rapidly in the U.S., achieving Top 20 status among energy beverages within two years. BetterCo’s investment will support Lucky’s continued growth and distribution.
With its first two investments, Crisp, an AI-powered commerce intelligence platform for the global food supply chain, and Lucky, a fast-growing better-for-you energy drink brand, BetterCo is on its way to building a portfolio that touches every link of the modern better-for-you value chain.
In a recent white paper entitled “Investing in Real Assets With a Private Equity Approach,” Paine Schwartz Partners explored the intersection of agri-business and private equity, highlighting how the $17 trillion food and ag sector can deliver the stability of real assets, like farmland and infrastructure, while achieving PE-level returns through strategies such as hybrid investment structures, operational improvements, moderate leverage, value-add approaches and sector diversification.
With two decades of experience and $6.5 billion in assets under management, the firm positions food and agri-business investments as “the best of both worlds,” offering tangible benefits like inflation protection and lower volatility alongside the potential for outsized returns, especially in value-add services such as crop genetics and soil health technologies.
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