Blue Stripes, a company focused on food and beverage industry trends and utilizing the entire cacao fruit, has successfully raised $20 million in a Series B funding round.
The US-based brand continues to attract funding from chocolate industry leader Hershey, which made an investment in the company five years prior.
Founded in 2018, Blue Stripes creates a diverse array of products from cacao components typically discarded during chocolate production—this includes cacao water, chocolate bars, and granola. With this latest capital infusion, Blue Stripes plans to enhance product development, expand distribution channels, and bolster marketing initiatives.
Inquiries have been made to Blue Stripes for further clarification on future plans, and Hershey has also been contacted for comments on this fresh investment.
Participants in the Series B funding round included VC fund Zintinus and US grocery retailer Whole Foods Market. Notably, Whole Foods, alongside its parent company Amazon, stocks Blue Stripes’ innovative products.
Additionally, Blue Stripes recently appointed celebrity chef Nick DiGiovanni as a brand ambassador. With a following of over 33 million on various social media platforms, DiGiovanni aims to raise consumer awareness regarding the numerous uses of cacao fruit and its potential nutritional benefits.
Founder Oded Brenner stated, “For the last two decades of my career I focused on showing people the whimsical and romantic side of chocolate. In this next chapter, I am on a mission to change what happens behind the scenes of the cacao industry – reducing the negative cacao industry impact on the environment, improving the economic value cacao farmers receive for their work, and sharing the incredible functional benefits that the cacao superfruit has with the world.”
This funding is poised to position Blue Stripes firmly in the food and drink business and capitalize on emerging food and drink consumer trends, emphasizing sustainability while driving innovation in the cacao sector.
