Sugar Capital 3rd Annual Aspen Party
A few words from Brian...
Some of us were dancing to the Chainsmokers until about 1 AM last night. So bear with me.
Hi! I am Brian Sugar, managing partner of Sugar Capital.
Thank you all for being here. I’m here with my partners. My wife Lisa, Krista, who lives right here in Aspen, and Will. And a big thank you to Molly, the newest member of our team, who ran point on putting this evening together.
[PAUSE]
Six years ago, Lisa, Krista, and I sold POPSUGAR and started Sugar Capital.
POPSUGAR was the zeitgeist. A hundred million women every month coming to us for what to wear, what to watch, what to buy, how to live.
It was a masterclass in consumer desire, every single day for fifteen years. We took that instinct and built a fund around it. We see the winners before the spreadsheet does.
We’re now investing out of Fund III. Here’s why we’re so excited about consumer right now.
[BEAT]
The biggest food and beverage companies in the world spent decades optimizing for one thing. Shelf life.
That era is ending. Regulators are starting to scrutinize Big Food the way they once scrutinized Big Tobacco. Consumers are demanding better, and a new generation of brands is answering that call. Clean ingredients. Real margins. Repeat purchase.
GLP-1s and peptides are rewriting consumer behavior overnight. I’ve lost over forty pounds since I stood in front of some of you last year. It’s real.
And it’s not just weight loss. It’s fewer calories. Less alcohol. Different shopping baskets. Different grocery carts. Categories that didn’t exist three years ago.
The brands built after 2021 aren’t the hype-fueled, cash-burning brands of the last cycle. These companies are disciplined. They’re profitable. And the strategics know it.
Rhode sold for a billion. Poppi for nearly two. Coterie for over six hundred million. Olive & June. Ghost.
This is a structural M&A wave. And our portfolio is exactly what these acquirers are buying.
We also invest in the AI-native technology accelerating these brands. Great brands and the technology that powers them. That’s Sugar Capital.
[BEAT]
And the results speak for themselves. Fund II is tracking in the top five percent of its vintage, based on current marks and distributions.
Grüns. Redefining daily nutrition in gummy form.
Starface. Made skincare cool for Gen Z.
Feastables. MrBeast turned a creator into a CPG empire.
Magna. Michael Preysman’s magnesium brand and next act after Everlane.
These brands are on the shelves at Target and Walmart. And we’re returning real capital. Not paper markups. Cash.
[PAUSE]
So here’s what I want you to take away tonight.
Every once in a while, a handful of forces converge at exactly the same time.
A consumer demanding better. A food system finally being held accountable. New science changing how people live in their bodies. And a generation of founders building brands with real margins, real loyalty, and distribution in their DNA.
That convergence is happening right now. And we are writing the first checks into the companies that will define it.
(SLOW DOWN)
The founders are calling.
The exits are accelerating.
The portfolio is performing.
And we’re just getting started.
Thank you. Enjoy the night.