Siddhi Capital, a venture capital firm founded in 2020, focuses on growth-stage consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands and food-tech companies. The firm was established as a joint venture between Siddhi Ops, an operations firm led by Melissa Facchina, and the family office of Brian Finn, former CEO of Credit Suisse USA. Brian Finn and his son Steven Finn are co-founders of Siddhi Capital, with Brian Finn serving as chairman.
Siddhi Capital’s investment portfolio consists of approximately two-thirds CPG food and beverage brands and one-third food-tech companies. The firm invests in brands that offer restaurant-quality foods and beverages that appeal to a wide audience and food-tech companies creating novel ingredients and addressing food-manufacturing challenges. Siddhi Capital takes board positions on its invested brands to help them scale their businesses.
Facchina expressed concern about the current investor and investee dynamic in the CPG industry, stating that it is broken and needs to be reinvented. She believes that companies and management teams are often afraid to tell the truth to their investors, leading to a contentious relationship.
Many VC investors are currently struggling to secure capital for their funds due to high interest rates and financial institutions less likely to lend out money. However, Facchina predicts that VC deals will start up again once interest rates come down or when the stock market sees a correction.
Struggling startups are also finding it harder to break through on store shelves, with many brands lacking meaningful product differentiation and innovation. The number of new CPG product launches is at the lowest point since 2007, showing slowing market innovation. Facchina believes that the industry would benefit from some natural attrition post-COVID, as consumers only have so many dollars and retailers only have so much shelf space.
