Brami’s and Mosh’s recent funding rounds show what’s winning in food right now

While the jury’s still out on how VC funding will shake out this year, it’s clear that large rounds are becoming increasingly rare among brands trying to grow in retail.

But some are proving to be the exception to the rule. In recent weeks, pasta brand Brami and snack brand Mosh both announced double-digit venture rounds to help them scale further.

Elly Truesdell, a partner at New Fare Partners, said the food and beverage companies that are able to raise money right now tend to have a very specific value proposition. That could mean being part of a better-for-you trend or being a high-velocity brand that’s growing at an exponential rate in retail. 

Truesdell suspects that the large rounds going to the select few brands point to a concentrated effort among investors to bet on specific long-term trends.

“A lot of investors are recognizing that food is really enduring and that there is such a macro shift in terms of how people are eating,” she said. But these trends tend to have a long tail, and it could take years to see returns on investments. Truesdell pointed to recent mega-exits, like Grüns‘ sale to Unilever, as exceptions to the rule.

She said that at this time, investors like herself foresee that it’s going to take several years for strategics and big conglomerates to reshape their portfolios, including selling off stagnant brands and scooping up hot, relevant companies. This leaves many investments up in the air as VCs await their brands’ exits.

For now, there will be gap raises that help certain brands reach the next stage of expansion. “One thing you will start to see more of – and we’re seeing it with our portfolio – is growth equity and PE firms doing a lot of secondary rounds,” Truesdell said.

A continued trend of category premiumization  

In May, Italian food brand Brami just raised $33 million in Series B funding led by VMG Partners, along with existing investors La Molisana, Pentland Ventures, Lerer Hippeau and Gather Ventures. Brami last raised capital in 2023, when it closed a $6.53 million Series A round.

According to Brami, its pasta has 70% more protein and 25% fewer net carbs compared to traditional pasta. It also has three times the amount of fiber per serving.

The brand is now sold at over 4,000 stores that include Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Costco and Sam’s Club. Brami’s latest retail launches include Sprouts nationwide and Albertsons’ Intermountain Division, which consists of Albertsons, Safeway and Lucky stores. 

Founder and CEO Aaron Gatti told Modern Retail that new investment will fuel Brami’s manufacturing and continued retail expansion across the country. Brami, which produces its pasta in Italy from durum wheat and lupini bean flour, will use the funds to increase manufacturing capacity and strengthen its supply chain.

“Retail pasta is a $4 billion category that had significant growth during Covid and globally is growing quite strongly,” Gatti said.

He went on to say that while there are a number of better-for-you pastas on the market, the company is trying to merge premium dried pasta and functional health benefits. “We want to open people’s minds to the idea that you do not have to choose between enjoyment and health in pasta,” he said.

With that, Gatti said VCs participating in this round are betting on Brami being part of a wave of brands that are trying to take a more premium approach to a mass category. He explained that retail pasta, in particular, had become commoditized in the U.S. thanks to large players dominating the aisle.

“But supporting this level of growth is incredibly capital intensive,” he went on to say. “Half of the round is dedicated to supporting growth and expanding our retail reach.” Gatti said that Brami’s growing velocity was another point that investors considered. Thanks to its latest retail expansion, the company expects a 400% year-over-year sales growth this year.

Generally speaking, the other half of the funding round will go to sourcing Brami’s premium ingredients. “Lupini is still an emerging ingredient, and we maintain very high standards for our wheat,” he said. 

“There is a continued trend of premiumization, and we fit perfectly into that,” Gatti said. “What is unique in our case is how impactful the pasta category can be, especially during inflation.”

Mosh leverages brain health-focused foods

Mosh, the brain health nutrition brand that specializes in snack bars, co-founded in 2021 by Maria Shriver and son Patrick Schwarzenegger, also announced a new raise in May. The company raised a $13 million Series A funding round led by Main Street Advisors, which has backed brands like On Running and Thorne.

Mosh just has crossed 2,000 U.S. retail doors and is on track to triple its physical retail presence this year. Its latest retail rollout was at Target last month. This rollout also coincides with the release of Mosh’s new higher-protein bars, which feature creatine and 20 grams of protein. The signature recipe has 11-13 grams of protein. Mosh’s protein bars contain Cognizin Citicoline, a clinically supported brain-health nutrient. 

Mosh president Jeff Gamsey said a big draw for Mosh is its mission to bring brain health into the mainstream grocery space at a time when longevity has become a major wellness topic among investors. Mosh offers high-protein and creatine-based products. However, Gamsey said, “VCs do see a really long-term secular trend in brain health and brain health nutrition.” 

“AI has soaked up a disproportionate amount of venture dollars; there is no doubt it’s tougher to raise now,” Gamsey said. “But we managed to be successful in closing our $13 million Series A as planned.”

Gamsey said that the raise’s success was a blend of timing and retail strategy. “We knew before starting our fundraise what critical traction and metrics Series A venture investors would be looking for,” he said.

Those criteria included high velocity in the conventional retail channel. Mosh first entered retail about 18 months ago in Erewhon. “And we quickly became a top-four selling protein bar.” That was followed by a national launch in Sprouts in June 2024. “However, while VCs value performance in natural grocers, they prioritize conventional retail success,” he said. 

It’s why this year the brand expanded into more conventional grocers, starting in mid-2025 at three of Kroger’s Western banners and Target in late May.

“This demonstrated our brand’s scalability and de-risked the investment, while validating the long-term, secular growth trend in brain health nutrition.”

“We’re now top quartile on all accounts and top decile in a handful of important accounts,” Gamsey said. “That showed VCs the traction and de-risked us while showing the scalability of the brand.”

Shriver lost her father to Alzheimer’s disease 20 years ago and has been an advocate for brain health research since. Gamsey said the mission to donate a percentage of proceeds from every bar sold to the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement at Cleveland Clinic is another differentiator for the brand.

Asked whether having celebrity founders at the helm attracts more investors, Gamsey said it depends on the VC and their firm’s objectives. 

“It’s hard to kind of speak about like a monolith VC that’s interested in celebrity brands,” he said. “But it certainly helps build awareness.” At the time of the fundraising effort, Schwarzenegger was appearing on the third season of ” The White Lotus.” “That really blossomed his profile and gave us [Mosh] extra visibility,” Gamsey said.