What Sunrise Strategic Partners does

Sunrise Strategic Partners is a Boulder, Colorado-based private investment firm founded in 2016 that provides growth capital and operating expertise to emerging food and beverage brands within the healthy, active, and sustainable living sector. The firm targets profitable companies with at least $50 million in revenue and strong gross margins that are positioned to scale, partnering with founders and management teams to add strategic value and accelerate value creation. Sunrise is led by co-founder Stephen Hughes (former Founder, Chairman, and CEO of publicly-traded Boulder Brands) and Managing Partner Peter Burns (former CEO of ONE Brands and Justin's Nut Butters), supported by a team of operating partners with senior CPG experience spanning Celestial Seasonings, Hershey, Silk, WhiteWave, and Kashi.

The firm's portfolio spans roughly nine brands across category-disruptor sub-verticals, including Kodiak Cakes (protein-rich breakfast), Vital Farms (pasture-raised eggs), Maple Hill (grass-fed organic dairy), Teton Waters Ranch (grass-fed beef), Kill Cliff (performance energy drinks), Little Secrets (fair-trade chocolate), Coolhaus (premium ice cream), Cali'flour Foods (cauliflower-based foods), and Pact (sustainable organic cotton apparel). Realized investments include Kodiak Cakes (partially exited to L Catterton), Vital Farms, Coolhaus, and Cali'flour Foods, while active holdings include Pact, Teton Waters Ranch, Maple Hill, Kill Cliff, and Little Secrets. In January 2023, portfolio company Teton Waters Ranch merged with SunFed Ranch to form a specialty grass-fed beef platform.

Sunrise generates revenue through management fees and carried interest, with returns realized via strategic sales of portfolio companies to multinational corporations and private equity firms. The firm received expanded funding from Trilantic North America in July 2021, which solidified its position as the largest food and beverage investor on Colorado's Front Range. Sunrise differentiates through deep industry relationships with retailers, agencies, and influencers, and a team with direct experience preparing companies for acquisition by multinational strategics, evidenced by portfolio and prior-company exits including ONE Brands to Hershey ($397M) and Justin's Nut Butters to Hormel ($286M).

Name

Sunrise Strategic Partners

Legal name

Sunrise Strategic Partners

Website

https://sunrisestrategicpartners.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sunrise Strategic Partners is a Boulder, Colorado-based private equity firm that provides growth capital and operating expertise to emerging food and beverage brands in the healthy, active, and sustainable living sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Growth Capital / Private Equity (Consumer Packaged Goods)

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Management of Companies and Enterprises (55111)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

SDG / Thematic Sustainable Investment Funds (FSANAJAN)

Keywords

• Growth capital investing
• Consumer packaged goods
• Food beverage brands
• Private equity firm
• Portfolio brand scaling

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Growth Capital Returns: Private equity firm generating returns through capital appreciation of portfolio companies, realized through strategic exits to multinational corporations and private equity firms. Revenue derived from management fees and carried interest on investment returns.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sunrise Strategic Partners is a private equity/growth capital firm that invests capital and provides operating expertise to emerging food and beverage brands in the healthy, active, and sustainable living space. The firm partners with founders and management teams to add strategic value, share guidance on tactical priorities, and leverage industry relationships to scale businesses toward liquidity events. Target companies are profitable businesses with $50+ million of revenue and strong gross margins that are ready to scale.

Product overview

Sunrise Strategic Partners is an investment firm that provides growth capital and operating expertise to emerging food and beverage brands in the healthy, active, and sustainable living sector. The company's product portfolio consists of portfolio company brands rather than proprietary products or modules. The portfolio includes Pact (sustainable organic cotton clothing), Teton Waters Ranch (grass-fed beef products), Kodiak Cakes (protein breakfast items), Maple Hill (grass-fed organic dairy), Vital Farms (pasture-raised eggs), Kill Cliff (energy drinks), Little Secrets (fair trade chocolate), Coolhaus (premium ice cream), and Cali'flour Foods (cauliflower-based food products). The firm targets profitable businesses with $50+ million revenue and strong gross margins, partnering with category disruptors that resonate with millennial and Gen Z consumers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Growth Capital Investments Minority and control equity investments in profitable food and beverage companies with $50M+ in revenue and strong gross margins that are ready to scale, with returns realized through capital appreciation, management fees, and carried interest on exits.
• Operating Expertise and Strategic Support Hands-on operating support for portfolio companies across General Management, Commercial Strategy, Finance, Supply Chain & Operations, Marketing & eCommerce, and Consumer Research & Analytics, with tailored recommendations delivered within 90 days of investing.
• M&A and Liquidity Event Advisory End-to-end M&A and investment banking process guidance for portfolio companies, leveraging the team's direct experience preparing companies for acquisition by multinational strategics.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successful exits including ONE Brands ($397M to Hershey), Justin's Nut Butters ($286M to Hormel), multiple portfolio companies achieving scale and liquidity events

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• L Catterton: Largest consumer-focused private equity firm globally and the buyer of Sunrise's Kodiak Cakes investment. Directly comparable as a CPG-brands growth-equity platform that targets many of the same better-for-you and lifestyle brand categories.
• CircleUp Growth Partners: Data-driven consumer growth investor that co-invested with Sunrise in Cali'flour Foods. Operates in the same emerging healthy/natural CPG category.
• CAVU Ventures: Consumer-focused growth equity firm investing in emerging, mission-driven brands in food, beverage, and lifestyle. Comparable stage, sector focus, and partner-engagement style.
• Kainos Capital: Private equity firm focused on growth and buyout investments in food, beverage, and consumer products companies. A direct competitor for the same healthy/natural CPG deals Sunrise targets.
• Alliance Consumer Growth: Growth equity firm that partners with consumer brands to accelerate distribution, marketing, and product development. Closely mirrors Sunrise's operating-partner-driven model in CPG.
• Castanea Partners: Specialty consumer and retail private equity firm where Sunrise Principal Nick Molé previously worked. Invests in founder-led consumer brands at similar stages to Sunrise.
• Forward Consumer Partners: Consumer-focused investment firm that recently acquired a 51% stake in Justin's from Hormel—a brand in which Sunrise partners were materially involved. Direct overlap in target brands and thesis.
• Trilantic North America: Sunrise's primary institutional capital partner and a growth-oriented private equity firm. Trilantic provides funding and co-invests alongside Sunrise in F&B deals (e.g., Cali'flour Foods, Kodiak Cakes), making it the closest functional peer in consumer growth investing.
• VMG Partners: Growth equity firm that invests exclusively in emerging consumer brands, often in the better-for-you, natural, and lifestyle categories. Highly comparable thesis, check size, and founder-engagement model.

Others

• Boulder Brands: Public natural/CPG company (EVOL, Udi's, Glutino, Earth Balance) founded by Sunrise Co-Founder Stephen Hughes. Not an active financial competitor, but a foundational reference for the team's operating pedigree and category relationships.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sunrise-strategic-partners-1089979734410747

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments11 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sunrise Strategic Partners