NEW YORK — Nuveen, a leading global investment manager, today announced the closing of a $10 million impact investment in Revolution Foods, a company transforming citywide wellness by providing two million healthy school and community meals each week to early childhood centers, districts, charter schools, community and afterschool youth programs. The financial support will help Revolution Foods reach more schools and community sites nationwide and add to its menu of healthy food options, among other value enhancing initiatives.
The investment was made as part of Nuveen’s global impact investing private equity strategy which prioritizes inclusive growth by directing capital to high-quality investments that fulfill a social purpose while seeking to generate strong investment returns. The strategy has allocated more than $850 million in impact investments since 2012.
“Revolution Foods offers a unique opportunity to invest in a fast-growing company with a high-quality management team that has demonstrated clear impact across multiple sectors – health, education and economic inequality,” said Rekha Unnithan, Impact Investing portfolio manager at Nuveen, “This investment aligns with our goal of delivering positive long-term investment performance to clients while meeting our strategic objectives of inclusive growth with clear and measurable impact. The fact that this company is also led and co-founded by women and has a gender-diverse management team is an added bonus.”
Founded in 2006, Revolution Foods designed, produced and delivered over 320 million kid-inspired, chef-crafted meals to school and community sites across 15 states. A certified B Corporation, Revolution Foods offers its meals within the reimbursement level of multiple youth health programs, such as the National School Lunch Program, to offer nutritious meals to America’s underserved youth at an affordable price. Revolution Foods continues to grow on an annual basis through a strategy involving daily food drops and seeks to improve its clean label supply chain and transportation efficiency to accelerate growth.
“We are honored and excited to be part of Nuveen’s global impact investing strategy and couldn’t think of a better partner to elevate a mutual goal of delivering financial success through mission-driven initiatives,” commented Kristin Groos Richmond, CEO of Revolution Foods. “Our mission is to transform citywide wellness through healthy, delicious school and community meals. With the help of Nuveen, we can expand the access to our products to even more students and families nationwide as well as advance further systems change in the communities we serve—from policy and food systems to driving positive student academic and health outcomes.”
Nuveen manages liquid and private impact investments for its parent company, TIAA, and other institutional investors. An overview of Nuveen’s approach is detailed in Impact Investing: Solutions for People and Planet through Alternatives.
With nearly five decades of responsible investing leadership, Nuveen is committed to three principles of Responsible Investing—environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration, engagement and impact, as a means of advancing better outcomes for investors, communities and the environment. For more information about responsible investing at Nuveen, please visit www.nuveen.com/NuveenKnowsRI.
About Nuveen
Nuveen, the investment manager of TIAA, offers a comprehensive range of outcome-focused investment solutions designed to secure the long-term financial goals of institutional and individual investors. Nuveen has $930 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2018 and operations in 23 countries. Its affiliates offer deep expertise across a comprehensive range of traditional and alternative investments through a wide array of vehicles and customized strategies. For more information, please visit www.nuveen.com.
About Revolution Foods
Founded in 2006 by two moms on a mission to transform the way America eats, Revolution Foods set out to solve the problem of limited access to healthy meals. The company’s innovative approach began with serving freshly prepared, healthy meals to students in schools nationwide, and the company has now designed, produced and delivered over 320 million kid-inspired, chef-crafted meals to sites across 15 states, including early childhood education centers, districts, charter schools, and community and afterschool youth programs. Revolution Foods aims to promote overall family wellness by equipping parents, teachers and students with valuable tools and resources to continue positive nutrition education beyond the lunch line. Together with best-in-class community partners such as FoodCorps and Share Our Strength, Revolution Foods brings nutrition curriculum, cooking classes, gardening lessons and other education events to students beyond the cafeteria. Revolution Foods is a certified B corporation that aims to drive systems change—from policy and food systems evolution to driving positive student academic and health outcomes, the company is setting the standard for how businesses can build a brighter future for our nation’s youth and families. For more information on Revolution Foods visit www.RevolutionFoods.com.
Nuveen provides investment advisory solutions through its investment affiliates.
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