Simple Mills Earns IVCA Company of the Year Honor
HPA is proud to announce that Simple Mills, an HPA portfolio company and leading clean-label food brand, has been named the 2025 Venture Capital Portfolio Company of the Year by the Illinois Venture Capital Association (IVCA). This honor recognizes Simple Mills’ exceptional growth, purpose-driven leadership, and transformative impact on both the food industry and Chicago’s innovation ecosystem, as well as the value of HPA’s long-term partnership with the company.
Founded in 2012 by Katlin Smith, Simple Mills began as a personal effort to improve health through food and has grown into a national brand redefining the packaged food aisle with simple, nutrient-dense ingredients. Today, Simple Mills products are sold in tens of thousands of stores nationwide, proving that consumers will reward real, better-for-you food that fits everyday life.
HPA led the company’s first institutional round in 2014, drawn to Katlin’s vision, leadership, and early consumer traction. Since then, HPA has been an active partner through multiple financing rounds and strategic milestones, culminating in Simple Mills’ acquisition by Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO) for approximately $795 million earlier this year. This transaction represents one of Chicago’s most significant recent consumer exits and recycles meaningful capital back into the region’s startup ecosystem.
HPA’s investment in Factor_, which was acquired by HelloFresh, was also honored as IVCA’s 2021 Venture Capital Portfolio Company of the Year. Together, Factor_ and Simple Mills highlight a repeatable pattern of success for HPA-backed Health and Wellness companies, from early-stage partnership to nationally recognized exits. “Simple Mills and Factor_ demonstrate that you can build purpose-led brands that not only change how people live and eat, but also deliver outstanding outcomes for investors and the broader ecosystem,” said Pete Wilkins, HPA Managing Partner.
The recognition of Simple Mills builds on HPA’s broader investment strategy, which spans Health and Wellness, Financial Services, Business and Industry, Enablement Technologies, and the Modern AI Stack. Across these sectors and beyond, HPA brings founders a combination of early conviction, operational expertise, and a powerful network that helps companies scale from first investment to meaningful liquidity events.
Simple Mills’ journey from a kitchen experiment to a nationally recognized brand and strategic acquisition is a Chicago startup story at its best. HPA is honored to partner with Katlin Smith and the Simple Mills team and is proud to see their work celebrated by IVCA as a model for what’s possible in this ecosystem.