June 15, 2017

As plant-based proteins continue to gain momentum, chickpea-based snacks have emerged at the forefront of recent private equity deals.

Boston-based chickpea snack company Biena announced it has raised $3.75 million through a high-profile Series A that includes Blueberry Ventures, Centerman Capital, and New Ground Ventures; a well as Darren Rovell, partner in Tastemaker Capital, who also brought in Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, Jesse Itzler, co-founder of Marquis Jet and early investor in Zico Coconut Water.

Biena was launched by Poorvi Patodia when she was pregnant and looking for healthier snack options. Through trials conducted in her own kitchen, Patodia developed a method to roast chickpeas while maintaining a light and crispy texture, and the protein, fiber, and nutrient levels of whole chickpeas. Leveraging her experience with brand development for Johnson & Johnson, Patodia brought Biena to market in 2012.

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, is expected to double revenue this year, is one of the highest-velocity healthy snacks in supermarkets, 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. “Our group feels that there isn’t anyone in the category that can touch Biena—its texture and flavor profiles are outstanding. Along with the product itself, the passion and clear direction of Poorvi Patodia and her leadership team really sealed the deal for us.”  

Prompted by the knowledge that consumers are searching for indulgent yet better-for-you snacks, Biena is also planning to debut its new product line of chocolate and caramel covered chickpeas, which should be on store shelves in July.

“This new line is a game-changer for chocaholics” Patodia told Project Nosh. “There’s nothing else on the market that offers the rich taste of real chocolate and a crispy satisfying crunch with the type of nutrition we pack into each serving. In our consumer testing, we were blown away by the overwhelmingly positive response to these snacks.”

Biena plans to use the fresh capital to fund large-scale marketing initiatives for the brand as well as to fuel growth of its distribution network.

“I’m thrilled to have our new investors join the Biena family,” said Patodia. “Their genuine passion for the brand and our mission to help everyday Americans snack healthier makes us the perfect pair. I couldn’t be more excited for this next phase of growth.”

This Series A for Biena is the second round announced for a chickpea snack company within the past few weeks. In the last days of May, natural snack food startup HIPPEAS – a producer of organic, gluten-free, vegan, and non-GMO chickpea puffs – announced that Strand Equity Partners, a leading growth equity fund co-founded by Leonardo DiCaprio and Seth Rodsky has made a minority equity investment in the company.

The company, which launched in the U.S. only last year, has seen turnover of 3 million euro in its first year of operation, and is on track to triple those numbers this year, according to Yahoo Finance.

-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.