Alexander Bernstein
PartnerAlex was born and raised in Washington, DC through middle school. At 14, Alex moved to NYC with his family where he attended high school, before heading to Brown University to study American history and economics. At Brown, Alex was known as the “speed specialist” on the men’s varsity ski team.
After college, Alex joined Arlon, a private equity firm backed by Continental Grain and Rabobank, focused on investing in middle market opportunities up and down the food and agriculture value chain. During his 10 years at Arlon, Alex focused on investments in permanent crops, fresh prepared food manufacturing and distribution, natural and organic sweeteners, frozen food, and also led an effort to build a new vertical investing in early-stage branded food and beverage companies. Alex also served as interim CEO of a frozen Mexican and Hispanic food manufacturer. Alex left Arlon in 2015 to focus on his passion of investing in high-growth food, beverage and consumer brands. Since then, Alex has invested in and partnered with over a dozen early and growth stage consumer brands, and also served as venture partner at The Production Board. Alex lives in San Francisco with his wife and three children, and is an ardent supporter of the men’s and women’s US Soccer teams.
Brown University, BA
Honey Mama’s
Javy
Cleveland Kitchen
Why focus on early & growth stage investing?
Moving from DC to NYC as a teenager had a dramatic impact on my life. I loved DC and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else, and my parents had to drag me to NYC kicking and screaming. But within a few weeks of moving to NYC, I found a very different experience in terms of physical environment, the kinds of kids and their backgrounds, the school I was attending – drastic change across the board. But I quickly learned to make the most of it and embrace the newness and differences, to adapt and evolve. I love working with early and growth stage brands because they are constantly living in a world of fast-paced change, every month looks different than the previous one.
Why food and beverage?
I’ve been captivated by food from a young age. My wife found a journal that I kept as a kid, and 80% of the entries talk about what I ate that day, how it was prepared, and where the ingredients came from. To satisfy this curiosity, my mom invented “The Adventures in Eating Club” where we got to pick out a new ingredient every time we went to the grocery store and then figured out how to incorporate it into a dish we would make at home.
Today, I cook at least one meal almost every day, and I’m constantly experimenting with new recipes and techniques or driving way too far to source the best ingredients. My wife won’t go to the grocery store with me, because I insist on zig-zagging through every aisle.
