By Gerelyn Terzo, Global AgInvesting Media
GoodSAM Foods, a small-farmer-focused food brand specializing in regenerative agriculture, has achieved its latest milestone. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based company has completed a $9 million Series A funding round as investors flock to more sustainable food systems and capital models that while commanding greater patience also reflect a long-term impact over a short-term gain. GoodSAM, whose products include nuts, fruit chips, chocolate and organic coffee, plans to direct the proceeds toward a team expansion and product line launches as well as to deepen farmer partnerships around the world.
The fundraising is was led by Bogotá, Colombia’s Alive Ventures and U.S.-based Desert Bloom while also extending to other participants including the LATAM Impact Fund, Promotora Social Mexico, One Small Planet and Connecticut Innovations. It buoys GoodSAM’s fundraising tally to $10.5 million, including previous investments from entities such as Thrive Market, JellyShot, Cynthia Tice the founder of Lily’s Sweets, and BeyondBrands.
In addition to a team expansion and product launches, the funding will allow GoodSAM to continue to support direct trade for smallholder and indigenous farmers across the countries in which it operates, including Colombia, Mexico and Kenya. GoodSAM’s model is direct, removing third parties and better ensuring fair wages and reinvestment directly into farming communities. A Boston Consulting Group study found that regenerative agriculture practices bolstered the profitability of U.S. wheat farmers in the state of Kansas by as much as 120 percent, while decreasing their fertilizer use by as much as 50 percent and pesticides by up to 75 percent.
As a female founded and led company, GoodSAM Foods considers the investment an especially “notable achievement” considering women entrepreneurs continue to face disproportionate barriers in fundraising. For example, in 2023, companies founded solely by women captured a mere 2 percent of the total capital invested in U.S. venture-backed startups, per PitchBook data.
GoodSAM Founder and CEO Heather Terry said, “Raising capital in the last two years has been extremely challenging and statistically, for women, it’s been nearly impossible. To have LATAM investors step up to support our vision as an American company, with the majority of our supply network in LATAM, has been humbling and deeply moving. This funding gives us the resources to scale not just in numbers, but in a way that meaningfully changes lives, communities, and economic realities. We are proving that a regenerative business model isn’t just viable—it’s thriving.”
Alive Ventures Managing Partner Virgilio Barco, who will be joining the GoodSAM board, also weighed in, saying, “We are excited to support GoodSAM, a company that is helping smallholder farmers engaged in regenerative agriculture to access premium markets, thus driving prosperity and climate resilience in rural areas.”
Alongside Barco, Desert Bloom’s Julia Paino will also be getting a seat on GoodSAM’s board, both of whom will lend their expertise in sustainable investment and ethical supply chains.
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