As emerging brands continue to gain traction by creating products that consumers find both nourishing and delightful. It is great to see several women-led companies this category as well. This article highlights 9 women-led companies people should watch in 2020
Love Good Fats: Founded by Suzie York, a 30 year veteran of the CPG industry who had worked with Proctor & Gamble, PepsiCo, Kraft Heinz, Weight Watcher and Zag. Prompted by health challenges, York made changes to her diet. Her experience during this period opened her eyes to the gap in the marketplace and the opportunity to help others through food. At the age of 50, she left her job as a marketing executive to launch Love Good Fats. A brand in bars category providing its consumers with high-fat, low-carb, low-sugar products. According to the company, the Canada-based brand has experienced explosive growth since launching in 2017, made its US debut in 2019 in all Whole Food locations.
Daily Harvest– In 2015, Rachel Drori realized her busy schedule leaves no time to create nourishing meals. She knew how important food is to her health but the best she could sometimes have for lunch was a handful of trail mix. These experiences led Rachel to set out to solve modern eating dilemma by creating food people will love to consume and convenient to make. According to the Daily Harvest, “we are reimagining the way we eat by using organic fruits and vegetables picked at their nutritional peak, frozen on the farm within hours of harvest, chef-crafted for taste, and delivered in a pre-prepped format directly to our customers’ doorstep”. In 2017, the company announced closing a series B funding round of $43 million led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and VMG Partners.
PARTAKE Foods - founded in 2016 by Denise Woodard who saw the need while taking care of her young daughter diagnosed with multiple food allergies. Finding snacks that were healthy and safe for her daughter was hard , she took the bold step to solve the problem. Woodard left her job at Coca-Cola to focus on building the company. According to the company, “Partake brand is a collection of healthy but delicious cookies and free of the Top 8 Allergens (so no wheat, tree nuts, peanuts, milk, eggs, soy, fish, and shellfish) Gluten-Free, Vegan, Non-GMO, and made with simple, whole-food ingredients”. Partake foods which can now be found in 400 stores recently raised $1 million led by Marcy Venture Partners
Uplift Food- founded by Kara Landau, a Registered Dietitian who was inspired to start her company after years of research into prebiotics and its role in chronic stress management. Landau, a previous spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia, is now the media representative for the Global Prebiotic Association. The company, “the functional food brand is focused exclusively on the mood supportive benefits of gut healthy prebiotics”. The company reported raising $1 million in financing till date.
YUMI– Founded in 2017 by two female founders, Angela Sutherland and Evelyn Rusli. The two young women set out to create an easy way for parents to give babies nourishing meals without having to prepare it themselves. Yumi meals are freshly prepared (small-batch) using California produce from local organic farms. Yumi delivers curated content to parents every week that explains how the meals in their box (and common kitchen ingredients) supports their child’s milestones. The company recently announced closing a 8 M round of financing.
RUMI SPICE - Co-founded by Kimberly Jung a miltary veteran who along with her co-founders came up with the idea for the company while serving in Afganistan. “Rumi Spice was born out of its founders’ desire to cultivate peace in Afghanistan by creating demand for the country’s agricultural products. The company started by exporting and selling high-quality, sustainably sourced saffron to the US market in order to connect Afghan farmers with the global market and unlock economic potential for them.” Rumi Spice brand produces flavorful spices to consumers. Today, the company sells ten different spices and spice blends to add flavor to the dishes of both home and professional chefs. The company reported to have raised $2.5MM+ from private equity and seed investors.
O’MY Foods – founded by two moms and food industry veterans Monette and Julie Bishop. The pair share a commitment to transparency, inclusivity and great taste, they founded their company to provide consumers with something delightful in dairy-free space. According to the company, “our creamy gelato flavors were crafted to be free from major allergens, including wheat/gluten, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and soy.” The company has raised more than $1 million to date with products available in 800 stores across the U.S., including both natural and conventional retailers.
Remedy Organics – Co-founded by Cindy Kasindorf, a nutritional health counselor who started the company after years of observing the benefits of her detox program in people who followed the program. The brand has created a line of 100% plant-based protein beverages enriched with super foods and botanical herbs.” Their mission is to bring convenient, functional nutrition to the world in the form of plant based food and beverages. The company which has raised venture funds was part of Pepsico Greenhouse nutrition accelerator.
R.E.D.D. (Radiant Energy Deliciously Delivered) - Emma Frelinghuysen, a 15 year food industry veteran is the CEO at R.E.D.D. According to the company, the energy bars are packed with superfoods and an adaptogenic mushroom blend, as well as pre- and probiotics. The products are also Dairy-Free, Vegan, Non-GMO, and Certified Gluten-Free. R.E.D.D. bars are distributed Whole Foods and health food nationwide. The company recently announced a $2.2 million round of financing.