Where Are All the $50M Consumer Funds?

In 1993, the firm that would become leading consumer private equity fund Catterton Partners, raised $50 million for its second fund. Over the next 13 years, subsequent funds measured $100 million, $400 million, $650 million, and $1 billion. TSG Consumer Partners, one of my previous employers, has followed a similar trajectory of assets under management (AUM) explosion and currently invests from its $1.3 billion, sixth fund. This steep upward trajectory in fund size is not uncommon in the world o...