LOS ANGELES — Butterfly Equity has closed its sophomore fund with commitments of $1 billion from partners including institutional investors, family offices, entrepreneurs and food investors. With its previous fund and co-investments, the private equity firm now has nearly $4 billion in assets under management.

Launched in 2016, Butterfly invests in food companies spanning the entire value chain, partnering with founders and management teams to accelerate growth. Its investments include Chosen Foods, MaryRuth Organics, Pete & Gerry’s Organic Eggs and Pacifico Aquaculture. Earlier in August, Butterfly agreed to acquire the Qdoba restaurant brand from Apollo Global Management for an undisclosed sum. Also recently, Bolthouse Farms, a business owned and operated by Butterfly Equity, acquired the Evolution Fresh cold-pressed juice brand from Starbucks Corp. Additionally, Butterfly sold a majority interest in Orgain, a plant-based nutrition brand, to Nestle Health Science.

Brands offer a helping hand to home cooks.

Food entrepreneurs are partnering to launch products.