CAVU Partners Invests $10M in Organic Chickpea Snack Startup

October 12, 2017

Chickpeas appear to be the recent golden child of the better-for-you snack category. HIPPEAS, a producer of certified organic extruded chickpea puff snacks, announced it has secured a $10 million investment from CAVU Partners.

This investment follows only months behind the startup announcing in May of this year that it had closed on an undisclosed investment in a high-profile round that included Strand Equity Partners, a leading growth equity fund co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio and Seth Rodsky. At the time, Joe Serventi, former barkTHINS EVP and current general manager of HIPPEAS, was an existing investor.

Launched only last year, HIPPEAS makes organic, gluten-free, vegan, kosher, and non-GMO chickpea puffs, with three grams of fiber and four grams of protein per serving. Consumers who are looking for new, healthy snack choices are flocking to the brand. The company has seen meteoric growth, seeing 100,000 points of sale through Whole Foods, Starbucks, Wegmans, Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, Boots, Waitrose, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Amazon, and Thrive Market across the U.S. and UK markets.

In August of this year HIPPEAS founder Livio Bisterzo told FoodNavigator-USA, “Frankly, it’s been an incredible few months, we’re going to do almost a million this month and I think September will be our first million-dollar month. We think we can achieve $25-$30 million next year.”

Another aspect of the company’s business model that has served to gain it traction in a competitive market is its social and ethical practices. The company has partnered with Farm Africa  – a charity operating in rural eastern Africa to alleviate hunger and improve the standard of living in the region. For each pack of HIPPEAS sold, the company donates a portion of the sale to support African farmers in improving their production and livelihoods.

HIPPEAS’ business model and social impact mission is a perfect fit for CAVU Partners’, which invests in high growth, iconic food and beverage brands that appeal to health-conscious consumers.

“HIPPEAS is redefining plant-based snacking with their tasty organic chickpea puffs and unique branding,” said co-founder and managing partner of CAVU, Brett Thomas, who will be joining HIPPEAS’ Board of Directors as a part of this deal. “Their product reflects the desires of today’s consumer – to eat delicious, convenient snacks that are healthy and have a positive social impact. We could not be more excited to partner with Livio, Joe and the rest of the talented team to make HIPPEAS a household name.”

The company said that the capital raised will be used to support the company’s further growth in retail by expanding into less traditional distribution such as e-commerce, club, and convenience channels, according to Project Nosh. And looking toward the future, Bisterzo sees HIPPEAS growing beyond the limits of the snack category into pulse-based breakfast foods, crackers, or spreads.

“Fundamentally the opportunity with this company and the brand we created goes way beyond the salty snack. We’ve created a lifestyle snacking platform,” Bisterzo told Project Nosh.

Not Alone

HIPPEAS is not alone in being a chickpea-based disruptor of the snack category. Another is Boston-based Biena – a producer of chickpea-based snacks that announced in June of this year that it had raised a $3.75 million Series A including some big names in venture capital: Blueberry Ventures, Centerman Capital, and New Ground Ventures, as well as Darren Rovell, partner in Tastemaker Capital. Rovell brought in Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, and Jesse Itzler, co-founder of Marquis Jet, an early investor in Zico Coconut Water.

Available in six flavor profiles: Sea Salt, Rockin’ Ranch, Honey Roasted, Habanero, BBQ, and Cinnamon Crunch, each Biena serving is gluten-free, non-GMO, kosher, made in a peanut-free facility, and contains 5-6 grams of protein and 5-6 grams of fiber.

Over the past three years, the company has seen 895 percent growth and is expected to double revenue this year. It is one of the highest-velocity healthy snacks in supermarkets, and is being sold in 15,000 locations across the U.S, and recently launched a co-branded product line with Weight Watchers.

“The momentum for plant-based protein snacks is undeniable and the chickpea has come out on top,” said Rovell.

Like HIPPEAS, Biena is planning to use the funds raised through this latest round to support the scaling-up of the company’s brand marketing initiatives, and to fuel the growth of its distribution network.

-Lynda Kiernan

Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com.

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