Dive Brief:
- Barnana has closed on a $5.3 million strategic growth equity funding round backed by several investors, including Trently Advisors, Blueberry Ventures, Boulder Food Group and Finn Capital Partners, according to Food Business News. Barnana creates chocolate, coconut, peanut butter, apple cinnamon and coffee flavored "super potassium" snacks out of "imperfect" organic bananas that would normally be wasted.
- SPINS, a retail reporting service, said that the healthy banana snack brand has become the quickest-growing snack in the category.
- The company will use the influx of money to help grow its production, launch new products and expand into additional markets.
Dive Insight:
Barnana's strategy has piqued the interest of investors and the company's savvy planning shows that its leadership has some good heads on their shoulders — something that appeals to investors.
When Barnana entered the food scene in 2012, it did so as one of the first brands relying on a banana-based snack food. Now, after only four years, it's seen annual sales increases of 139%.
By sourcing misshapen bananas that would otherwise be a tough sale on the grocery aisle, Barnana can buy the fruit at cheaper prices. This allows the company to sell the product for a cheaper price than other fruit-based snacks, and still see profits. Despite this success, the model hasn't seemed to catch on with other food brands.
According to endfoodwaste.com, approximately 20 billion pounds of healthy produce goes uneaten simply because it doesn’t look pretty. Barnana's sourcing strategy could help manufacturers reduce waste, turn a profit, and establish a mission-based brand initiative to entice consumers.
By buying ugly produce straight from farmers, manufacturers also help growers, who sometimes have to cut their losses on this sort of fruit. This move toward sustainability would also be attractive to environmentally conscious consumers.