Why We Invested: Honey Mama’s
Deepthi Madhava - August 2022
Investing in healthy indulgence with Honey Mama’s
“Healthy indulgence” might have sounded like a “Contradictio in terminis” in the past, but not anymore. Consumers today want to eat more gourmet, decadent foods that are also good for their health.
So, what does healthy indulgence look like? Well, ask our portfolio’s newest member and category creator, “Honey Mama’s,” that has tapped into this trend and secured the position as the leading consumer choice for healthy indulgence. With 100% clean, simple, and nutrient-rich ingredients, Honey Mama’s is a premium refrigerated truffle bar that is indulgently delicious and nourishing at the same time.
We are thrilled to be an investor in Honey Mama’s continued growth and success, alongside Amberstone Ventures and others and supporting Honey Mama’s in building a category-defining brand. Dominating the natural grocery channel as the #1 selling brand per point of distribution, Honey Mama’s is now accelerating growth into mass, conventional grocery, and club channels. We believe Honey Mama’s is well positioned to accelerate growth and be a mainstream cult brand reaching over $100M in revenue within the next 5-6 years.
Honey Mama’s was launched at the Portland State Farmers Market by Christy Goldsby, who continues to be the spirit behind the brand. Her purposeful selection of leadership team, much like the ingredients of the truffle bar, has accelerated growth since 2019 by executing a brand refresh, introducing incremental and innovative products, achieving national expansion in the natural channel, and now expanding nationally into conventional grocery. The current leadership team led by CEO Jared Schwartz has earned the trust and respect of several trade partners and F&B experts through their strong business results by not only expanding distribution but also continuing to grow same store sales, all while maintaining healthy and sustainable margins.
Honey Mama’s bold and dynamic flavors have been tastefully captured in Bon Appetit, Forbes, and other media. Over 45% of customer repeat purchases at Whole Foods and high sampling conversion rate at Costco have shown category-leading indicators of a cult following. With a flavor experience for all, they continue to innovate their product portfolio with a robust product pipeline planned to support distribution growth.
Tahini Tangerine, Ginger Cardamom, Lavender Rose, don’t sound like chocolate flavors, do they? Honey Mama’s is exactly that, chocolate that doesn’t say it’s chocolate. If you are in the refrigerated grab-and-go aisle looking for a healthy lunch option and want to top it with dessert, you can’t miss Honey Mama’s. And once you taste it, there is a high chance you will want to taste it again.
Follow Honey Mama’s here to be the first to hear about new flavors and recipes – IG, FB, LI
Follow some of OVF’s other consumer product portfolio companies – Salt & Straw, Rumpl, gearUp , RISE Brewing
