Biena Snacks welcomes a powerful group of new investors to the company.
Investors in this round include Darren Rovell, an ESPN partner at Tastemaker Capital, who brought an influential group of financiers to the table-notably Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, and Jesse Itzler, co-founder of Marquis Jets and an early investor in Zico Coconut Water.
Chocolate lovers everywhere can make their way and feel good about it with Biena’s new line of chocolate-covered chickpeas that hit the shelves later this summer. Biena has submerged its signature Sea Salt Chickpeas into delicious chocolate and caramel. The three flavors-dark chocolate, milk chocolate and salted caramel-are a delicious, yet healthy snack with 4 grams of protein and only 130 calories per serving.
Other investors in the round include Blueberry Ventures, Centerman Capital and New Ground Ventures.
“The momentum for plant-based protein snacks is undeniable, and the chickpea has come to the top,” Rovell said. “Our group feels that no one in the category can touch Biena-its texture and taste profiles are outstanding. Together with the product itself, the passion and clear direction of Poorvi Patodia and her leadership team have really sealed the deal for us. “That’s right.
Over the last three years, Biena has grown by 800 per cent and is on track to more than double its revenue in 2017. The new funds will be used to support continued growth in distribution and large-scale marketing efforts for the brand.
Since its launch, consumers have responded to the brand’s full-flavoured taste profiles, clean ingredients and nutritional benefits, making Biena one of the fastest-growing healthy snacks on supermarket shelves today. Biena is available at 15,000 locations across the country, including Sprouts, Whole Foods, Safeway and Stop & Shop. The brand has also recently launched a co-branded product line with Weight Watchers.
Biena is available in six delicious flavors, including Sea Salt, Rockin’ Ranch and Honey Roasted. Each serving of Biena Chickpeas is enviable with 5-6 grams of protein and 5-6 grams of fiber, and has a calorie count that allows consumers to still smile after polishing the bag. In addition, Biena chickpeas are naturally gluten-free, non-GMO, kosher and produced in a plant free of peanuts.
Biena was developed by Patodia when she was pregnant and looking for a healthier way to satisfy her snack cravings. Inspired by a favorite childhood snack, Patodia began experimenting with roasted chickpeas in her own kitchen, developing a unique way to make them light and crisp while maintaining the protein, fiber and nutrients of the whole chickpea. Taking advantage of its background in the development of Johnson & Johnson brands, Patodia launched Biena in 2012-when the plant-protein snacks trend was still in its infancy.
“I’m thrilled to see our new investors join the Biena family,” Patodia said. “Their true passion for the brand and our mission to help the American day-to-day snack healthier make us the perfect pair. I couldn’t be more excited about this next phase of growth. “That’s right.
With chickpea emerging as the star of the plant-protein snacking trend, Biena is well positioned to become a market leader. Later this month, at the Fancy Food Show at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City, the company will publicly unveil a new indulgent snack-a line of chocolate and caramel-covered roasted chickpeas (Store 5476) This new product line will be launched in stores nationwide in July.
About the Foods Biena
Biena is a snack food company specializing in deliciously crunchy and healthy all-natural bean protein snacks. They are available from Whole Foods Markets, Sprouts Farmers Markets, Safeway and New Seasons, as well as online from Amazon. Come and SnackAisle Come on, Visit Biena on Facebook and Twitter for product information, updates, demos and other news.
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