Makers of organic, paleo, and vegan chocolate – Hu Products (Hu Chocolate) – announced the closing of their Series A round, led by a strategic minority investment from Sonoma Brands. Other notable investors include Dr. Mark Hyman, Tim Ferriss, Nelson Peltz, and Dr. Peter Attia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In a press release, Hu Products Chairman and Co-Founder Jason Karp said the new funding will advance the company’s distribution and exposure in the health-conscious snacking space. “With the support of Sonoma Brands, along with several other highly strategic investors, we will accelerate the conversation around the need for more vegan, paleo and unprocessed foods and bolster our platform as a mission-driven health and wellness business”.
Hu Chocolate, which focuses on clean label and strictly-vetted, transparent ingredients and offers its product in thousands of U.S. stores, got its start in Hu Kitchen, a high-end, fast-casual restaurant in New York City. Hu Kitchen offers all of Hu’s products, which are geared towards helping consumers “Get Back to Human”, providing good-for-you permissible indulgences.
Hu Products has found in Sonoma Brands a specialist growth equity firm dedicated to funding disruptive, high-growth consumer brands and furthering entrepreneurship. “Hu Chocolate is a true category disrupter in the vegan/paleo world, showcasing ingredient integrity and culinary influence that resonates deeply with our team. We believe that Hu will change brand standards across a variety of product verticals by delivering its rigorous ingredient integrity and transparency, and we’re excited to be a part of that future and the Hu story,” said Jon Sebastiani, founder of Sonoma Brands.
An Uptick in Snacking Segment
As consumers look to adopt a more healthy, balanced diet, with less time to do so, snacking has come back into vogue, evidenced by an increase in snacking in 2016 to 83 percent of consumers enjoying the art of grazing, up from 76 percent in 2014, according to Technomic. Additionally, the 2017 State of the Snack Food Industry report notes that the number of snacks consumed per day has risen to five or more, a 2.7 percent year-on-year increase from 2014 to 2017.
Hu Products portfolio highlight paleo options, a food category that has increased 12 percent from 2015 to 2016, according Innova Market Insights.
By Michelle Pelletier Marshall, GAI Media