Healthy Snack Startup GoodSam Foods CEO on $9M Funding: RFK Jr Fails to Grasp Regenerative Farming

A recognition of its regenerative agriculture and farmer-centric model, US food startup GoodSam Foods has raised $9M in Series A funding to expand its range of healthy snacks.

Regenerative agriculture may be in the spotlight thanks to the appointment of Robert F Kennedy Jr as US health secretary, but for one farmer-centric food brand, this government doesn’t fully get it.

“I don’t think this administration understands the cost of regenerative farming or how much investment is needed to make it successful at a federal level,” says Heather K Terry, CEO and founder of GoodSam Foods. And while Terry says she is “cautiously optimistic” about RFK Jr’s involvement in the Trump government, echoing the thoughts of many fellow food leaders, the future is not without its challenges: “I see this as a huge mountain to climb, and I don’t think they’re prepared to spend what it takes to make it happen.”

Terry is speaking to Green Queen after her company closed a $9M Series A round for its range of healthy snacks, built on a business model that champions smallholders and regenerative farming, and cuts out the middleman.

The round was led by Alive Ventures and Desert Bloom, with additional participation from LATAM Impact Fund, Promotora Social Mexico, One Small Planet, and Connecticut Innovations. It takes GoodSam Foods’s total raised to $10.5M since its establishment in 2019, reflecting investors’ faith in “patient capital models that prioritise long-term impact over short-term gains”, according to the firm.

The company – which sells nuts, fruit chips, chocolate and coffee – plans to use the capital to expand its product offerings, build its team, and continue direct trade support for smallholder and Indigenous farmers in nine countries, including Colombia, Mexico and Kenya.

Back in GoodSam Foods’s own country, Terry isn’t “super excited” about what the Trump administration is going to do about agriculture, or how it will do it.

“This administration hasn’t prioritised climate action or research that could help farmers adapt to climate change. They’ve cut key resources that farmers rely on – information that tells them when to plant, how to adjust, and how to work within shifting conditions. That was vital for farming communities, and now it’s gone,” she points out.

VC farm buyouts and farmer age gap are immediate threats

“I’ve seen some of what America’s most innovative, regenerative farmers are doing today. They can literally green deserts. They rebuild depleted soils, wells that have been dry for 30 years start flowing again.” These are RFK Jr’s words, part of his long-held belief that regenerative agriculture is key to fixing America’s food system.

The problem? He doesn’t “fully understand the costs”, according to Terry. “I watched his confirmation hearing, and it’s clear that neither Congress nor the Senate grasps what it takes to bring a regenerative product to market,” she says.

Regenerative farming isn’t just an abstract concept, rather it is “essential for our survival,” she explains. “Indigenous farmers and smallholder communities have been practising regenerative methods for generations, particularly in remote regions. But this model is breaking, and the climate crisis is accelerating that breakdown.”

“This isn’t just a threat – it’s happening now. Farmers, especially in the Global South, already feel the effects of climate change firsthand. Unpredictable weather, soil degradation, and economic instability are pushing many to the brink. And yet, there’s still no systemic commitment to supporting them at scale.”

Plus, the median age of a farmer is 65, and younger generations – especially in the Global South – don’t see the profession as a viable future. “The current system is already breaking, and if we don’t build bridges, create fair opportunities, and ensure equity in the food supply chain, we risk creating an unstable food system,” she says.

“We’re also seeing a troubling trend of large VC and private equity firms buying up farmland, pushing small farmers further into debt and displacement,” she adds. “No one wants this. If farmland consolidates into the hands of a few, food security becomes fragile. The future of food depends on fair, transparent models that empower farmers – not exploit them.”

This is where GoodSam Foods’s direct trade model comes in. “It’s easier to rely on middlemen and aggregators – they scour for the lowest price, resulting in a cheaper product. But that model comes at a cost. It drives down wages, weakens local farming economies, and prioritizes short-term gains over long-term sustainability,” explains Terry.

“This approach requires a dedicated team willing to build long-term relationships, invest in local communities, and ensure farmers are paid fairly,” she adds. “GoodSam is committed to this work. It’s not the easiest model, but it’s the right one.”

Investors have ‘unconscious biases’ against women-led businesses

GoodSam Foods has been successful in raising funds at a time when VC interest in climate tech, and food tech more specifically, is on the decline, with investment dropping by 38% last year. Terry ascribes part of this trend to “investor skittishness”.

“In 2022, a lot of capital was lost due to inflated valuations that weren’t sustainable. Many companies simply didn’t have the fundamentals to justify their high valuations. When those valuations collapsed, VCs and private equity firms had to shift their focus to stabilising their existing portfolios,” she argues.

“This created a ripple effect. Capital that would have gone to new businesses dried up. Food tech, in particular, is a capital-intensive sector that often requires longer timelines for profitability, which makes it even harder for startups in this space to secure funding. We’re still seeing the aftershocks of that reset today. Investors are more risk-averse, looking for proven models rather than innovative ones.”

Nevertheless, food innovation is crucial, says Terry, and necessitates investors to take a long-term outlook. In addition, VCs must ramp up investment in startups founded and led by women, which commanded just 0.4% of US climate tech funding in the first nine months of 2024. And Pitchbook data from 2022 revealed that only 16% of VC decision-makers are women, while 96% of VC firms have a majority male population of decision-makers.

This is despite women-founded startups offering investors a much better return – 78 cents for every dollar, compared to 31 cents for male-founded businesses – and securing an exit faster (7.2 years versus 8.1 years for the overall average).

“The reality is that women have always struggled to raise capital. This isn’t new. We’ve been talking about it for over 15 years in the natural products industry, and yet nothing has changed,” says Terry.

“Investors still have unconscious biases and often don’t understand how female-driven companies operate or that they consistently outperform in terms of financial management, sustainability, and realistic growth projections.

“At the end of the day, it’s easier to default to the existing systems. Hiring operators and middlemen who already fit into current structures is easier. It’s easier for investors to back founders who reflect the status quo than those who are building something different. But building something new – something more equitable, something more sustainable – requires a different mindset and approach. It’s a challenge worth taking on.”

Amid chocolate and coffee volatility, US government needs to step up

The new funding will help GoodSam Foods build on what was a strong 2024, with the business now expecting to double its revenue this year. This growth will be propelled by new product offerings, including vegetable chips and more nuts, with a focus on local producers.

In addition, GoodSam Foods will launch a New Day Coffee SKU at Whole Foods Market in July, a result of a project that prioritises the next generation of coffee growers. And it’s rolling out a new range of chocolate products with reduced cacao content, like chocolate-covered macadamias.

Cocoa and coffee have felt the full force of the climate crisis over the last few years, with prices breaking all-time records in recent months, after becoming the two fastest-growing commodities of 2024.

Terry calls it a “Wild West scenario” right now. “These commodities are not scalable in the US. They come from other places. The communities that produce them are working in tough conditions to ensure their crops remain healthy and productive. We don’t prioritise that enough,” she explains.

“Climate change is hitting these crops hard – too much rain, not enough rain, extreme heat – all of it impacts supply. But people don’t think about it until it becomes a crisis and prices spike,” she adds. “Unless we raise prices in a way that reflects the real cost of production, we’ll see even steeper price increases down the line.”

She urges the US government to prioritise these issues to create a sustainable future, though is yet to see that level of government. Again, while she remains cautiously optimistic, the financial and policy structures on hand do not yet support that optimism.

“Regenerative farming works. It’s not about perfection – it’s about taking steps, at any scale, toward restoring soil, improving ecosystems, and ensuring food security for future generations. If we don’t act now, we risk pushing farming communities past the point of no return,” Terry says.

“The transition to regenerative agriculture must be a priority, not an afterthought. Governments, investors, and industry leaders need to step up with real financial commitments, policy alignment, and investment in the farmers on this crisis’s front lines.”