Mission-driven investment firm Meaningful Partners has returned to lead a $16.5 million Series B for Stryve Biltong. Pendyne Capital and existing investor, the privately owned holding company Murano Group, joined Meaningful Partners in the round.
GAI News first mentioned Styve Biltong in September of last year when Meaningful Partners led a $10 million Series A for the company, which included Murano Group and additional unnamed investors.
Started in Plano, Texas, in 2017, Stryve was co-founded by current CEO and former NFL first-round draft pick Gabe Carimi; Ted Casey, the founder of Dymatize; and Joe Oblas and TJ Humphrey’s, the founders of Prosupps.
Originally from Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, biltong is similar to jerky in that is it a meat protein snack food, however, it is made from thinly sliced meat, and is produced without heat or cooking, and often without sugar. Slicing USDA-graded top round steak very thinly, the company naturally preserves its products with vinegar and salt, then air dries them for three weeks. This process results in a snack that has 36 grams of protein per 2.25-ounce bag, only one gram of sugar, and is free of nitrates and MSG.
In addition to the Series B funding, the company has also announced new leadership appointments to both its executive management team and its board. In March, Jaxie Alt from Dr Pepper Snapple Group – with 18 years CPG experience – joined the company as CMO, and Peter Rahal, the founder of RX Bar, has joined the company’s Board of Directors.
“The past year has shown that there is a huge demand for clean protein snacks in the US, and we have assembled an experienced team of brand builders to help us shape the future of meat snacks and clean protein snacking with Stryve Biltong,” said co-founder and chairman of the board, Ted Casey.
Since its launch, the company states that it has experienced “explosive growth”, rapidly growing its online business and extending its distribution across all retail channels including CVS, GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, Central Market, Walmart, and others.
“We have an aligned strategy for growth and are rapidly moving to put all the pieces in place to achieve it,” said Casey.
Jerky snacks are the fastest growing snack category in the food sector, according to Fona International, as they align with some of the most dynamic food trends. The U.S. meat snack sector is a $2.8 billion industry, and is expected to see annual growth of 4.2 percent through 2022, reports Food Dive.
This growth will largely rest on consumer demand for convenience, high-protein, low-sugar snacks that are minimally processed and offer new and innovative flavors – all factors that are met by Stryve. However, for Stryve it also will depend on educating the consumer, and so, the company will drive a multi-front course including digital media, influencer strategies, and broad sampling programs across the U.S.
“We spend a lot of money on media and a lot of money on sampling to drive velocity and to drive trial,” Alt told Food Navigator.
“This will be a huge opportunity for us to keep up with our significant product demand and scale our business to make biltong more accessible everywhere in the U.S.,” said Gabe Carimi, CEO of Stryve Biltong when the company raised its Series A. “We’ve already shown tremendous growth since we started in the summer of 2017 and we’re ready to take our expansion to the next level.”
This expansion is already in progress, with the company doubling the number of Walmart stores carrying its products to 1,200, and an impending entrance to 7-11 locations, and a trial launch through Costco.
“Stryve is at a really exciting place in its development,” said Rahal, “and I look forward to bringing my experiences in CPG to the table to help accelerate the brand’s growth.”
-Lynda Kiernan
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