The Farmer Companies / Company Spotlight
The Farmer Companies is a private equity firm that licenses, invests in, and acquires brands with the potential to expand into new markets. Over the past five years, the VCET-backed company has helped partners launch, operate, and sell businesses worth over $60 billion. In this Q&A, we speak with CEO Adam Farmer, a South Burlington local, about the company’s origins, how Cabot helped shape its journey, and what’s to come.
Blaise: Adam! Thanks for making the time. First of all, have you always been an entrepreneur?
Adam: I’ve always been into inventing things. During my senior year at Castleton, I tried to get a patent on a sanitizing spray that fits into your wallet. I called it Safe2S’it – the apostrophe taking the place of the letter “h” – and it was for if you had to use a public toilet. And I thought this was the greatest thing since sliced bread. I got 4,000 of them made for $5,000. My first job was walking up and down Church Street, slinging Safe2S’its.
Blaise: I understand you eventually went to work in finance. Why did you decide to pivot?
Adam: As you can imagine, I had to sell a lot of Safe2S’its to even make my money back. And after four or five months of making $50 a day, I realized that I wanted to learn about raising money. So I coldcalled Merrill Lynch in Burlington. They interviewed me but I didn’t get hired because I had no experience. But they said, ‘If you get your Series 7 and Series 65, call us back.’ So me and Ben Carter – who’s now our Chief Growth Officer – both started at Northwestern Mutual in Jacksonville, working for 100% commission, and studying in our free time. When I got my investment licenses, I went back to Vermont where I got hired by Merrill Lynch as a financial advisor. All I did for two years was cold call people, building a really good rolodex of some of the prominent Vermont investors and people that are now involved in our company. Then I got hired by one of my good friends, Aaron Pollak, who owns a boutique investment banking firm – venture.CO – in Burlington. I raised money for big real estate deals in Burlington.
Blaise: How did you ultimately discover your interest in private equity and working in licensing?
Adam: When I was at venture.CO, I got obsessed with the licensing space and started thinking about good brands that were undervalued and could expand. Being from Vermont, lo and behold, Cabot was my first idea. I thought Cabot was such a good cheese company and could make popcorn and other cheese products. So I reached out to Roberta MacDonald, the Senior VP of Brands. I told her about this proposal and she thought it was a really good idea. I said, ‘Look, I don’t know anything about food, but I’m going to bring in the right people that know what they’re doing.’ What started with Cabot has turned into a conglomerate of really good brands that like the way we structure deals. And we’re well-equipped with our supply chain to create new, innovative products and help these brands get into other areas of the store.
Blaise: What an interesting origin story! After that, you went on to start The Farmer Companies. Can you tell me more about your firm and its mission?
Adam: I like to say we have the simplest investment thesis: we look for great brands that have the elasticity to expand into new market verticals. We started with licensing and now we’re starting to get into some acquisitions too, like with Whisps, the number one cheese-crisp brand in the United States. At the time we purchased the brand, they had over 60% market share, and we had this really good cheese snacking business with our Cabot products. It made sense to bring in the number one cheese snack under our portfolio. We think that Whisps has one of the best attributes that’s not marketed to its full extent: How many other snacks can claim they’re made with one ingredient? When you’re partnering with such a well-known brand in this space, you’re already three quarters of the way there. And once people try a new product, it’s about repeat business.
Blaise: What’s one product you’ve rolled out that has been particularly exciting?
Adam: Everything we’ve rolled out has been a tremendous success thus far. It’s hard to pick one. We have so much that we haven’t launched yet that’s going to be coming in the next three to five months, including Newman’s Own Tortilla Chips. We think they’re going to be a home run. But I love the taste of everything we make – I try to not keep as much in the office anymore, because I’d be snacking all day.
Blaise: The Farmer Companies has 14 full-time employees. How have you gone about assembling the team?
Adam: When we started, we were very lean, and our sales outpaced our infrastructure. I knew that in order to scale this business, we were going to need a rock solid team. We brought in Rob Bellezza – formerly the Head of Operations at Ben and Jerry’s – who buttoned up our supply chain as COO. Adam Weber was our first Director of Sales who came from Wise Potato Chips. Most recently, we hired a new president, Bill Hooker. There’s a lot of skill that goes into leading a company that I’ve never had before – managing people, for one, is very hard. I really owe everything to the team.
Blaise: How have you approached fundraising? You recently secured $500,000 in funding from VCET.
Adam: One cool thing about our raises is I’d say 90 percent of our capital is from Vermont investors. It’s a small community here, and the fact that so many of the local investment groups believe in our mission is very flattering. It’s an honor. Not only is our investment strategy simple, but it’s a very tangible model. A lot of investors see a very clear path to success. We’ve received support from VCET, the Dudley Fund, FreshTracks… we’re very happy to have all those folks as partners.
Blaise: What’s it been like to grow as a private equity firm in Vermont? Have you ever considered relocating?
Adam: We’re actually trying to get away from the private equity label. We’re not a fund, we’re more of an operating business – like a Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate model. People are investing into us as a single entity with multiple subsidiaries. Would I want to move to Boston or New York? No. I’m from Vermont, I love it here. If I have to travel to meet with folks, it’s an easy one-stop flight. We have a small little office in Florida for our southeast business, and we’re getting some great talent in Vermont, which is rare. It just shows that I think we’re on to something. Once you start getting really good, qualified people, others want to join.
Blaise: Over the past few years, your products have received multiple awards, including the 2022 PEOPLE’s Food Award for Cabot Mac & Cheese and the 2023 sofi Award for Guiness Mac & Cheese. What do these awards mean to you?
Adam: Those were a nice surprise. The SoFi award was pretty remarkable, since it was for the best new entrée across all categories. That’s a global award at the fancy food show. It shows our commitment to quality. We’re not going to put something out with the Cabot brand on it – or Guinness brand, for that matter – that isn’t of the highest quality.
Blaise: What are some recent trends in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) space and how are you positioning The Farmer Companies accordingly?
Adam: A lot of the newer brands are always focusing on ‘better for you.’ But in focusing on it, you limit your reach. Yes, we want to make products with the best possible ingredients, but our main focus is ‘better than’, not ‘better for you.’ We win by having the best tasting stuff out there. If you try Cabot popcorn, it’s very different from Skinny Pop, which is based on low calories. Our popcorn is the cheese lover’s popcorn. You can eat our popcorn with a glass of wine. And by focusing on the highest quality products with the cleanest and best ingredients, we think we’ll continue to win in the market.
Blaise: You’ve now spent four years as CEO. What is some advice you would offer to aspiring entrepreneurs and other industry leaders?
Adam: The first would be: Know what you don’t know. Being able to step back and confidently say, ‘Hey, I don’t know the answer to that question. But give me a couple hours and I’ll get back to you.’ That is not done as much as you would think it is. Next, know your strengths and weaknesses. I’m a pretty creative thinker, energetic, I think big picture. But there’s a lot of things that I’m not very good at, so bringing in the right team that complements you is very important. The third is that energy is everything. Do not keep toxic people around a company – they can drain a business faster than you would think.
Blaise: Where do you see The Farmer Companies in five years?
Adam: Diversified. We’re going to have our revenue split between multiple operating businesses. I see us becoming a major player across the country in cheese snacking. We have the brands and partners to do it. And I see us partnering with other cheese companies across the world. Also, we want to keep having fun. That’s one of the coolest things about our business: people join us from big companies and they’re like, ‘This is the most fun I’ve ever had in my career.’ That’s probably the most rewarding thing as the CEO of a business.
Blaise: What has VCET’s support meant to The Farmer Companies?
Adam: VCET’s belief goes a long way, especially since they’ve seen so many deals and been around the Vermont startup scene for a long time. And I joke with Dave about your name: the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies. I’m like, ‘Dave, we have to be the least technical company you guys have ever invested in.’ That VCET believes in our simplified, rudimentary investment thesis is very flattering.
Blaise: Thanks for the time, Adam. We’re excited to continue to follow your success!
Adam: Thanks Blaise.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.Learn more about The Farmer Companies here. You can find Adam Farmer on LinkedIn here.
