Vital Farms IPO

Emailed on July 24, 2020 in The Friday Forward

Vital Farms, the country's largest producer of pasture-raised eggs, set IPO terms to 7.8 million at $15–$17. At the midpoint, it would raise $125 million and have an initial market cap of $627 million.

This is about real eggs made by real chickens, not pseudo eggs designed in a lab. That might not have seemed too novel a decade ago, but today runs counter to the capital markets' hunger for alt-protein and dairy companies.

Shareholders include Manna Tree Partners (8.2% pre-IPO stake), SJF Ventures (8.2%), and Arborview Capital Partners (6.6%).

"If consumers keep paying more for products considered ethically produced and more people value those attributes, Vital Farms could have a long runway ahead for growth. It said it has low household penetration of 2% for its pasture-raised shell eggs, compared to the shell egg category penetration of approximately 93%." — Christopher Doering, FoodDive

Big shoutout to the team over at SJF Ventures in Durham, NC on another huge win.