Blue Stripes, a NYC-based cacao brand, raised $20M in Series B funding.
The round was led by Zintinus, The Hershey Company and Whole Foods Market, among others.
The company intends to use the funds to continue to advance its whole cacao process technologies, develop new products, increase distribution, and raise consumer awareness around the nutritional benefits of the cacao fruit for the chocolate industry as a whole.
Founded in 2018 by Oded Brenner and Aviv Schwietzer, who also founded the global chocolate retail chain Max Brenner, Blue Stripes is a whole cacao brand on a mission to create a more ecologically and economically sustainable cocoa supply chain. Its ingredient and production approach reduces cacao fruit waste, increases the value of the cacao fruit, and creates a meaningful income increase for cocoa farmers by utilizing 70% of the fruit that is typically thrown away in the traditional chocolate making process.
Blue Stripes’ line of products includes: Cacao Water, Whole Cacao Chocolate Bars, Whole Cacao Granola, Whole Cacao Trail Mix, Chocolate Covered Cacao Beans, and Dried Cacao Fruit.
Blue Stripes is available nationally through their website and with retailers including Whole Foods Market, Fresh Market, Sprouts, and Amazon, as well as in small premium grocers like Happier Grocery in NYC.
To uplift the brand’s mission to create a more sustainable future for the chocolate industry, Blue Stripes has appointed Nick DiGiovanni, celebrity chef, entertainer and digital megastar with over 33 million followers across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, as a Brand Ambassador. In this role, he will leverage his social platform to educate consumers about the cacao fruit including its various use cases and functional benefits.
FinSMEs
15/10/2024