The founders of Kind Bars, Hot Pockets and other snacks are diversifying their fortunes through a combination of different products

This article was originally published in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter, which features Robert Frank and is a weekly guide to high-net-worth consumers and investors. Register to receive upcoming editions directly in your inbox. Kind snack bars, which are made with whole grains, nuts, and fruits, are the foundation of billionaire Daniel Lubetzky’s wealth. In 2020, he sold the food giant Mars his majority share in Kind Snacks. He has backed other well-known consumer brands through his family business, Camino Partners, including the fast-casual restaurant chain Cava, the hair care line Prose, and the breakfast products from Belgian Boys. Camino, which was established in 2023, has recently expanded its focus to longevity by investing in home health care provider LiveWell and fitness chain Barry’s. According to information specifically given to CNBC by the private wealth intelligence platform Fintrx, it is one of more than 100 family offices based on food and beverage fortunes. Beyond the consumer packaged goods business that their principals started, a new class of family offices is emerging. Another snack bar founder, Peter Rahal of RXBar, has made investments through his family business, Litani Ventures, in X (formerly Twitter) and the biodegradable packaging company Cove. Following the sale of the frozen food manufacturer to Nestlé in 2002, Paul Merage, co-founder of Chef America, the parent company of Hot Pockets, opened his family office. Consolidated Investment Group now operates a vast real estate portfolio throughout the United States. S. . as well as Israel, including over 25,000 apartment buildings in places like Dallas and Denver, through joint ventures and direct investments. The president of the investment firm, Elle Lanning, who has been with Lubetzky since joining Kind in 2010, says that investing in longevity is a logical progression in the case of Camino. The way we look at it, a wave of education usually precedes a wave of availability in terms of consumer health. “One of the first areas where a wave of consumer education began to emerge was food and nutrition,” she said. For us, Barry’s ideas about how exercise affects consumer health are similar to the second wave of nutrition. In addition, Camino has moved away from startups and toward established companies that generate at least $20 million annually. It can deploy $20 million to $80 million in advance or over time for each company. Lubetzky initially desired to make investments in startups. Lanning stated, “He enjoys building things from the ground up.”. However, she cautioned Lubetzky that investing in the early stages carries a higher risk of failure and advised him to compare a faltering portfolio company to a failing product. She stated, “If you are an early-stage investor, you have to have this ability to know when it’s not working, and call that.”. “And he says, ‘No, he can’t do that. These are living things, you know. They are people and their means of subsistence. For Lubetzky, stepping outside of consumer packaged goods necessitates consulting with professionals. Camino usually uses fund managers when making investments in other rapidly expanding industries like deep tech and aerospace. Lanning remarked, “I believe the reason we have perhaps done so well in life is that we know what we know and what we don’t know, and we try to make sure that the decisions we make are very informed by that.”. “,”.

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The original version of this article was published in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter featuring Robert Frank, which is a weekly guide to wealthy consumers and investors. Register to receive upcoming editions directly in your inbox.

Whole grain, fruit, and nut-based Kind snack bars are the foundation of billionaire Daniel Lubetzky’s wealth. In 2020, he sold Kind Snacks to the food giant Mars for a majority stake.