The consumer venture capital investor announces two new £25m funds targeting fast-growing startups in Europe and the US.
The £25 million Headline Fund will accelerate dmg ventures’ existing strategy of backing consumer-facing start-ups from Seed to Series A.
The £25 million Scale Fund will enable more established consumer brands to accelerate their growth by collaborating with DMGT’s media titles, including MailOnline, Metro, i and the New Scientist.
dmg ventures plans to make six to 10 investments a year, marking a significant step-up in activity that reflects its growing confidence in the consumer startup sector. It aims to capitalise on a radical shift in consumer behaviour, fuelled by the rise of generative AI, the drive towards environmental sustainability and consumers’ growing desire for memorable experiences.
dmg ventures has announced the first two investments from the Scale Fund: mindful drinks creator TRIP and innovative cacao brand Blue Stripes.
Launched in 2019, TRIP is ranked as the fastest growing UK food or drinks brand of the past 16 years (Alantra). It sits at the heart of the £166 billion global ‘functional beverage’ market, which delivers drinks with health benefits to consumers.
Blue Stripes, which is based in New York, is tackling waste in the chocolate industry by upcycling discarded cacao fruit into tasty and healthy products, such as drinks, snacks and granola. Blue Stripes counts Whole Foods and Hershey’s among its strategic investors, and its products are available in more than 1,500 stores in the US.
As part of its increased investment activity, dmg ventures has promoted Rachel Muzyczka and Taos Edmondson to Partner.
Manuel Lopo de Carvalho, managing partner of dmg ventures, said: “We’re delighted to launch two new funds to support the most exciting entrepreneurs in Europe and the US. Thanks to our unique investment strategy, we are ideally placed to seize opportunities from what we believe will be a transformational shift in the consumer sector.”
Rachel Muzyczka, partner at dmg ventures, added: “We’re really looking forward to working with TRIP and Blue Stripes, which are two of the best emerging food and beverage brands globally. TRIP is among the most outstanding startups we have seen, while Blue Stripes’ team is second to none.
“We will put the full weight of DMGT’s media brands – and their vast global audience — behind TRIP and Blue Stripes.
“We’re rethinking consumer venture capital and look forward to harnessing our playbook to support many more leading brands in the future.”
James Edmunds, managing director of TRIP, said: “We can’t wait to bring TRIP’s unique products to even more consumers in the UK and expand our footprint elsewhere.”
Oded Brenner, founder and CEO of Blue Stripes, said “dmg ventures brings a unique proposition to the table around its media expertise and reach, and we’re delighted to add them to our mix of tier-one, strategic investors.”
