Rihanna and Jay-Z are getting into the vegan food business. The two superstars are among the venture capitalists who have contributed funding to the African American female-owned snack company, Partake Foods.
According to Forbes, Partake Foods closed a $4.8. million round of funding in December. The company’s total $7.5 million in funding has come primarily from Black investors, including Jigga’s venture capital fund, Marcy Venture.
Other contributors include Grammy award-winning singer H.E.R., Kevin Johnson’s Black Capital, the Seattle Seahawks’ Bobby Wagner, Black Star Fund, Once Upon a Farm CEO John Foraker, and CircleUp Growth Partners, FF2032.
Denise Woodard, CEO and founder of Partake Foods, told Forbes, “I feel very passionate about continuing to increase wealth in the Black community wherever possible and so, having investors on board that understand those missions and goals is really important to me. That was very deliberate.”
The thriving entrepreneur is also the first woman of color to raise $1 million for a food startup. Partake Foods launched in 350 stores at the start of 2020. Woodard also revealed to Forbes that she plans to be in 5,500 stores by the end of 2021. She intends to use new funding to grow her team and increase marketing and distribution.
The company also announced the news on Instagram, posting, “BIG news to share! We are happy to announce Partake just closed a $4.8 million series A funding round led by investors including @rihanna, @Bwagz, Black Star Fund @CircleUp, and Marcy Venture Partners.”
Woodard also told the business website that her story wasn’t an overnight success and the dream took years of work to bring to fruition. She added, “I sold cookies out of my car up and down the street in New York every single day. I drove to natural food stores and did demos every single day…there’s so much of a longer grinds. I say that to say that if I can figure this out and get here, anyone can.”
Find out more about the Black organic food company at www.partakefoods.com.
