Coefficient Capital VC Franklin Isacson: 'We focus more on liquidity than we did before'

When Coefficient Capital raised its first fund in March, the idea was to invest in consumer brands that could weather a recession.

What happened

When Coefficient Capital raised its first fund of $170 million in March, the idea was to invest in consumer brands that could weather a recession. Fast-forward nine months later, and Coefficient Capital managing partner Franklin Isacson, who previously worked as a brand manager at LVMH and opened the U.S. office for European-based Verlinvest, said the early-stage firm has already made big bets on disruptive consumer trends.

Why it matters

For example, Isacson said Coefficient has invested in Hawthorne, a digitally-native men’s grooming brand, adding to its portfolio that includes wellness ingestibles brand Hydrant and other food products like oat milk and apéritifs. Hawthorne has not formally announced the funding, but Isacson joined its board in March, according to his LinkedIn.

Isacson spoke with Glossy about what drove the recent Hawthorne investment, how Covid-19 will impact 2021 investing and what future customer habits can be gleaned by looking back at the 2008 financial crisis.

Has Covid-19 impacted your investment strategy? We were always focused on brands that have the ability to sell omnichannel and not just rely on DTC. And our conviction has been strengthened since a lot of the consumer trends that we have invested in have accelerated through the pandemic. We’ve closed on four new deals [during] the pandemic and all are fast-growing omnichannel CPG brands: Premium men’s skin-care brand Hawthorne, the Oatly oat milk business, Magic Spoon, which is a low-carb high-protein cereal brand, and then the Haus spirits brand.

This news brief is based on reporting published by Glossy on 2020-12-15. The original report is linked below.