The annual list recognizes private equity, venture capital, and lending firms with strong track records of supporting founder-led businesses
Bedminster, NJ, October 27, 2026 – Swander Pace Capital (“SPC”), a private equity firm investing in consumer staples businesses across food & beverage and health & wellness, has been named to Inc.’s 2026 Founder-Friendly Investors list. The list recognizes private equity firms, venture capital firms, and lenders with demonstrated track records of supporting founder-led companies.
The recognition arrives in SPC’s 30th year and caps a busy year for the firm, which recently completed two exits alongside the families and founders it partnered with.
Three decades as a first partner to founders and families
Since 1996, SPC has invested exclusively in the consumer sector, raising $2.0 billion across seven funds and completing 106 investments: 64 platforms and 42 add-ons. Roughly 80% of those partnerships have been with families and founders taking on institutional capital for the first time.
That focus has put SPC alongside many founder-built brands in consumer staples, including Boulangerie St-Methode, Purely Elizabeth, Mommy’s Bliss, Mighty Spark, Bragg Live Food Products, and Functional Formularies.
SPC’s approach rests on three commitments: respect for the legacy and culture founders have built, active collaboration with management teams rather than oversight from a distance, and a 30-year playbook and consumer talent network that founders can draw on as they scale.
The past month shows what that looks like in practice. In October, SPC announced the sale of Fine Choice Foods, maker of the SUMM! brand, which the Lui family founded in 1986 and grew with SPC’s support in product development and manufacturing capacity. Ferrero Group also acquired Purely Elizabeth from founder Elizabeth Stein, SEMCAP Food & Nutrition, and SPC, after a partnership that helped make it a leading granola brand in natural and conventional channels.
A recognition that belongs to our founders
“This recognition means the most because it comes from the founders and families themselves,” said Andrew Richards, Founder, CEO and Managing Director of Swander Pace Capital. “For 30 years, we have been the first institutional partner to entrepreneurs who built something special. Our job is to respect what they created, roll up our sleeves alongside their teams, and help them reach the next chapter. Seeing Fine Choice Foods and Purely Elizabeth reach successful outcomes this year is a reminder of why we do this work.”
“With the current funding environment and rapid changes facing growing companies, founders are looking for more than just capital from their investors. They want true partners who believe in their business, but who are also able to provide the critical advisement and strategic support they need to reach their potential,” says Bonny Ghosh, editorial director at Inc. “The 2026 Founder-Friendly Investor awards celebrate those firms –– the ones committed to partnership, excellence, and helping founder-led companies grow.”
To compile the Founder-Friendly Investors list, Inc. went straight to the source: entrepreneurs who have sold to private equity and venture capital firms. Founders completed questionnaires about their experiences partnering with private equity, venture capital, and debt firms and shared data on how their companies have performed during these partnerships. The resulting list highlights investors that founders identified as strong partners throughout the investment process.