The J.M. Smucker Company Partners With Rev1 Ventures to Support Startups Innovating Food and Food Processing Technologies
Smucker Partners to Expand Entrepreneur Engagement in Consumer Foods Business
Columbus, OH—June 26, 2018—Today, The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) and Rev1 Ventures, the investor startup studio that combines capital and strategic services, announced a strategic partnership. The collaboration will help the industry leader tap into emerging technologies and startups that are transforming the food industry across several focus areas, including ingredient and process technology, snacking, commodity and supply chain, and more.
Headquartered in Ohio since its founding more than 120 years ago, The J. M. Smucker Company is known for prioritizing quality and innovation. For decades, Smucker has been a leader in the food and beverage industry, a sector that accounts for 15.3 cents of every U.S. consumer food dollar. This industry is increasingly focused on adopting innovative technologies to engage with consumers in new ways.
Rev1 Ventures, a top VC investor in the Great Lakes Region, aligns innovators and founders with corporate and research partners to access customers and markets. The company will identify and connect Smucker with promising new technologies and startups in the food industry.
“The partnership with Rev1 Ventures is a strategic decision to align more closely with the best and brightest innovators and technologies who are helping industries like ours think outside of the box,” said Tina Floyd, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Foods, at The J.M. Smucker Company. “By tapping into Rev1’s extensive network of entrepreneurs, we can gain access to and more easily adopt technologies for our operations and products, while also driving startup success in our backyard.”
“Smucker is a visionary in the industry and a leader in Ohio and North America, and we recognize the power of their engagement to attract the best and brightest entrepreneurs,” said Tom Walker, CEO of Rev1 Ventures. “Rev1 is committed to working with corporate partners that understand the importance of propelling innovation and doing business with the entrepreneurs creating them. This is a ground-breaking effort to continue Ohio’s momentum for driving innovation and furthering startup success.”
For more information about the partnership, please visit https://rev1ventures.com/corporates/smucker/
About The J.M. Smucker Company
For more than 120 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has brought families together to share memorable meals and moments. Guided by a vision to engage, delight, and inspire consumers through trusted food and beverage brands that bring joy throughout their lives, Smucker has grown to be a well-respected North American marketer and manufacturer with a balanced portfolio of leading and emerging, on-trend brands. In consumer foods and beverages, its brands include Smucker’s®, Folgers®, Jif®, Dunkin’ Donuts®, Crisco®, Café Bustelo®, R.W. Knudsen Family®, Sahale Snacks®, Smucker’s® Uncrustables®, Robin Hood®, and Bick’s®. In pet food and pet snacks, its brands include Rachael RayTM Nutrish®, Meow Mix®, Milk-Bone®, Kibbles ‘n Bits®, Natural Balance®, and Nature’s Recipe®. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth, and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. For more information about our Company, visit jmsmucker.com. The J.M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein, except for Dunkin’ Donuts®, which is used under license: Dunkin’ Donuts® is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder LLC. Dunkin’ Donuts® brand is licensed to The J.M. Smucker Company for packaged coffee products sold in retail channels such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and drug stores. This information does not pertain to Dunkin’ Donuts® coffee or other products for sale in Dunkin’ Donuts® restaurants.
About Rev1 Ventures
Rev1 Ventures is the investor startup studio that combines capital and strategic services to help startups scale and corporates innovate. Based in the Midwest, and in a top city for scaling startups, Rev1 aligns innovators and founders with corporate and research partners to access customers and markets, helping entrepreneurs build great companies.
With a proven track record of identifying, guiding, and investing in high potential startups, Rev1 helps companies solve real problems for markets in need of real solutions. Rev1 has $90MM in capital under management, providing a capital continuum from corporate and community partners, as well as the Ohio Third Frontier. Rev1 has been named among the Most Active VCs in the Great Lakes Region for the past three years in a row according to PitchBook. For more information, visit www.rev1ventures.com.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Aimée Eichelberger
Press (at) rev1ventures (dot) com
