Regeneration as an Investment Thesis: Creating Value from the Ground Up

At S2G, we see regenerative practices as a practical way to strengthen farms, improve food system performance, and generate returns. Healthy soils, thriving ecosystems, and profitable farmers reinforce one another and open the door to long-term value.

For too long, investors have viewed better-for-you food and agriculture as an uninvestable space. We’ve taken the opposite view: that this space is full of untapped innovation, overlooked inefficiencies, and underappreciated value. We believe our recent exit of Maple Hill Creamery — following earlier portfolio successes such as Egg Innovations’ merger with Happy Egg and the growth of Clear Frontier (our farmland platform) — demonstrates that investing in business models oriented around regenerative practices can deliver meaningful returns while unlocking value for people, our planetary resources, and the entire food system.

Scaling Regenerative Dairy: Maple Hill Creamery

The successful acquisition of Maple Hill Creamery by Horizon Family Brands underscores the progress of this strategy. Maple Hill built a category-defining brand in 100% grass-fed organic dairy, with products made from real, certified organic ingredients and milk from cows raised on the regenerative pastures of regional family farms. The company, and as importantly, their family-run dairy farmers, demonstrated that regenerative approaches such as rotational grazing, healthy soils, and local sourcing can coexist with national-scale distribution and consumer reach.

What we find powerful about Maple Hill’s story is that it sits at the intersection of values and value creation. As consumers sought transparency and authenticity, Maple Hill’s commitment to regenerative farming translated directly into brand equity and growth. Our relationship helped them expand distribution, invest in farmers, and bring the benefits of regenerative dairy to millions of households. By the way, a glass of cold Maple Hill Whole Milk is my favorite beverage on the planet. 

Reimagining Egg Production: Egg Innovations

Prior to its 2024 merger with Happy Egg, which is known for its focus on organic and outdoor access egg farming, Egg Innovations was an early mover in regenerative egg production. The company used pasture-based systems that improved soil health, encouraged natural foraging, reduced synthetic inputs, and supported carbon capture through diverse, living plant cover. Vertical integration allowed them to manage these models holistically and strengthen both ecosystem function and farm level performance.

Over the course of our investment, Egg Innovations evolved and scaled considerably, partnering with more than 50 family farms and managing 1,000 acres of dedicated land. With S2G’s support, the company strengthened its position in the specialty egg market, expanded its supply of free-range and humane eggs, and advanced solutions that improve environmental and animal welfare outcomes.

Beyond building a trusted brand, Egg Innovations helped transform an industry that historically treated animal welfare as a cost center into one that recognized it as a source of differentiation and value creation. For S2G, the investment validated that better farming practices can scale commercially when paired with brand authenticity and operational excellence, meeting the consumer where they are going.

Investing in the Land Itself: Clear Frontier

Our conviction in regenerative agriculture extends beyond products and into the land itself. We founded Clear Frontier in 2019, a farmland investment platform that acquires conventional farmland and, in partnership with local regenerative farmers, transitions it to organic and regenerative production.

Today, Clear Frontier manages over 25,000 acres across the U.S., working closely with farmers to improve soil health, reduce input dependency, and unlock new revenue streams through organic certification and ecosystem services. The outcome is farmland that can deliver stronger performance and increasing value over time, while reducing inputs.

In our view, by improving the biological and financial performance of farmland, we have the ability to capture appreciation in both the asset and the yield it produces in great food and more profitable farmers.

Connecting Regeneration to System Level Value

We believe these investments illustrate the breadth of our platform and our ability to drive positive outcomes across the food and ag supply chain. From farm to brand, we’ve been backing companies that connect regenerative principles with scalable business models for over a decade.

• At the production level, we invest in systems and innovations designed to make farming more sustainable and profitable.
• In midstream and processing, we support infrastructure that strengthens regional supply chains and reduces waste.
• At the consumer level, we partner with brands that build trust by aligning with values people care about — transparency, sustainability, and authenticity.

Our approach is rooted in systems thinking: understanding how capital can catalyze change across interconnected stages of the value chain.

The Financial Case for Regenerative Investing

While the ag industry is going through a difficult time and many investors question whether they can generate returns, our experience, through company building, exits, and long-term asset ownership, says we believe we can. The key is perseverance, expertise, and a systems lens. 

Growing food profitability is one of the hardest things to do on the planet. Regenerative business models require focus to develop, but when they do, they can create durable advantages. Lower input use reduces costs, strong brands can secure premium pricing, and healthier production systems support supply chains that can manage volatility. If you look at corn production, regenerative fields experience 78% higher profits compared to traditional approaches. These practices improve soil health, strengthen resilience, and reinforce brand value. Measurement and scaling challenges remain, but the economic signals point in a positive direction.

We’ve now seen this play out from farm to fridge. Regenerative practices help enhance profitability, and we believe the exits and continued growth of Maple Hill Creamery and Egg Innovations and the success of Clear Frontier are examples of that value realization.