The Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing health and economic crisis is, first and foremost, a humanitarian emergency. CEO’s and management teams of all organisations – consumer facing and more broadly – are rightly focused at the moment on the welfare of their colleagues, providing support where possible to the national response and local communities and, of course, focusing on a path to survival through the significant disruption.

Frugi has acquired TotsBots, the environmentally-friendly cloth nappy company, and its sister brand, Bloom & Nora, the reusable sanitary products brand. With a growing consumer focus on sustainability and a rising interest in purchasing environmentally-friendly products, the acquisition will allow all three brands to further ingrain their purpose.

True was City Pantry's first institutional investor in 2015. It was from True's innovation Hub in Victoria, London that City Pantry grew its successful business. Its sale to Just Eat demonstrates it has led from the the forefront of consumer behavioural change and we wish the team the best of luck in the next part of its journey.

As specialist investors in the consumer space, we are fascinated by shifts in behaviour, such as the move towards at-home fitness, and what they mean for brands and business models longer term. Trying to predict which behavioural shifts will become permanent is a key part of our role. Here we look at the health and fitness sector.

Shell’s latest Innovation Challenge with True aims to find the most exciting businesses and ideas to help its 45,000 forecourts improve their water efficiency.

This is our first investment in the food and beverage sector - so why have we chosen Antipodean healthy food group Soulfresh? We take a look at the market and the reasons why we believe we can help support the Soulfresh team on its journey.

The importance of wellbeing has become increasingly recognised in modern society, with issues surrounding one part of this – mental health – moving up the social and political agenda. As is often the case, innovation has more than matched demand, with a proliferation of startups seeking to enhance all aspects of personal and mental wellbeing, including sexual wellbeing.

True has invested £26m in Soulfresh, a food and drinks brand that’s disrupting the market with alternative options for consumers focused on healthy and sustainable lifestyles.

True has acquired a majority stake in organic kids’ clothing makers, Frugi. Frugi designs, manufactures and sells sustainably-sourced organic cotton apparel and accessories for babies, children and new mothers.

In December 2018, True invested in Zwift, the multiplayer online training and racing platform for cyclists and runners, a business that we believe has the potential to transform the indoor fitness market. Our investment forms part of a $120m fundraising round, in which we have partnered with leading venture capitalist investor Highland Europe and strategic investor Causeway Media, which have a number of assets in both traditional sports and esports.

Johnson & Johnson has chosen to work with True to run its LaunchPad process, using its own international network of startups and investors to identify and filter market-leading solutions capable of adding value to one of the world’s largest consumer goods companies.

True co-hosted a consumer and retail trade mission to New York in collaboration with the UK Department for International Trade. Hoxton Analytics, Localistico, Mishipay, Spirable, ADAY, All Shades Covered, Placed and VITL all took part representing the breadth of businesses we invest in.

M&S has partnered with True to draw on the breadth of True's community to access the latest innovative technologies and expertise from within the sector that can best support M&S’ digital ambitions.

To date, maude has successfully raised $10m over four rounds of funding - making it one of the most VC-backed sexual wellness personal care companies and True has continued to support maude with investment in its Series A round.

With around 44,000 sites in close to 80 countries, Shell is the world’s largest mobility retailer and one of the largest single-branded retailers of any kind. True is collaborating with Shell to help enhance its customer experience through access to innovative technologies, products and startups.

True, has invested in maude, a modern and inclusive sexual wellness company looking to destigmatise the sexual health category.

True has completed a first close of its second seed fund at £7m, exceeding its target. The fund is backed by a variety of True’s strategic stakeholders, including influential family offices and prominent business leaders from the retail and consumer sector.

Sustainable dog treats brand, Shameless Pets has selected True as an early stage investor to support the rollout of its retail offering and growth of its direct-to-consumer business.

Leading US retailer Abercrombie & Fitch has teamed up with True to help support innovation across its retail footprint and digital proposition.

COAT, which has been carbon-neutral since launch, has secured funding from True alongside venture capital Trust Pembroke VCT who led the round. This new investment into the homeware category follows on from True’s recent £1m investment in D2C luxury bedding business Bedfolk earlier in the year.