Functional food has a way of exposing who is actually doing the work and who is just remixing sugar water with a wellness playlist. NextFoods stepped back into the spotlight on December 18, 2025 with a $10M Series 3 round led by ECP Growth, and the message was clear without saying it out loud. This is what long-term conviction looks like when the science, distribution, and discipline all show up on time.
Founded in 2006 by Steve Demos and Todd Beckman, NextFoods was never built for fast applause. It was built for receipts. Real ones. Clinical ones. Years before gut health and recovery became dinner table conversation, this team was already stacking peer reviewed proof and whole food integrity. The April 2023 consolidation of GoodBelly and Cheribundi was not a pivot, it was gravity. Two brands that earned trust independently now moving with shared purpose and sharper economics.
GoodBelly remains the number one probiotic juice brand in North America, anchored by LP299V, a strain backed by 290+ scientific publications and 80+ human clinical studies. Shelf stable, vegan, gluten free, and still quietly outperforming products built on vibes instead of validation. Cheribundi brings equal weight, delivering 100% Montmorency tart cherry juice to 450+ pro and collegiate sports teams that care about recovery, sleep, and inflammation because availability wins games and excuses lose seasons.
This chapter is led by Marc Seguin as CEO, a builder who has scaled brands past $100M without torching credibility. Marcel Bens remains Chairman through ECP Growth, the majority stakeholder that has been in the trenches since before the merger. Lella Rafferty is shaping how these brands speak with intelligence instead of noise, and Mark L. Borden is keeping growth grounded in financial reality, not optimism theater.
The numbers are not theoretical. 20,000+ retail locations. National distribution. DTC accelerating with triple digit e-commerce growth on the Cheribundi side. $6.7M in annual revenue with real upside ahead. This $10M is earmarked for product innovation across gut health, muscle recovery, and sleep, deeper retail partnerships, stronger marketing precision, and infrastructure that scales without cracking.
NextFoods is not trying to convince consumers that wellness matters. The customer already decided. Athletes, parents, and everyday operators just want products that work, taste clean, and do not require belief systems. This round is not about becoming something different. It is about compounding what already works, one clinically proven serving at a time, and letting consistency do the talking.
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