Black female-founded snack company Partake Foods is starting the new year ROCk solid. According to Forbes, the food brand rolled over into 2021 with millions of dollars from a mega roster of celebrity investors.
The fourth quarter of fundraising ended with the company, led by founder and CEO Denise Woodard, snagging $4.8 million for operations, product manufacturing, marketing, etc.
Leading the pack is R&B singer, Rihanna, former NBA player Kevin Johnson’s Black Capital, and NFL player Bobby Wagner’s Black Star Fund.
It is reported that half of all of the Partake Food investments came from Black investors and musicians like Jay-Z’s VC fund, Marcy Venture Partners, and Grammy Award-winning singer H.E.R. who contributed to their total raise of $7.5 Million.
“That was very deliberate,” Denise Woodard said. “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.”
With the help of these notable influencers, Woodard has made history becoming the first woman of color to raise $1 million for a food startup. Last year, Partake Foods opened approximately 350 stores.
It is her corporate goal to build 5,500 new brick and mortars by December 2021.