Bare Beans raises $2.79M seed to sell fresh beans direct to shoppers
What's the deal? Bare BeansDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Native American woman-owned fresh-bean company, raised a $2.79 million seed round from Raven Indigenous Capital PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and launched its online store at barebeans.com. The funding backs the company's first push into direct-to-consumer sales after eight years supplying restaurants and institutions.
What's the endgame? Founded by chief executive officer Michelle Huff of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa, Bare Beans sells kettle-cooked beans in five varieties — pinto, garbanzo, black, navy, and red — with no salt, seasoning, or preservatives. The beans keep up to 90 days in the fridge and swap one-for-one for canned beans. The round funds the direct-to-consumer launch, with retail expansion to follow.
Why now? The company has spent eight years supplying partners across the US and Canada, including Sysco's Cutting Edge SolutionsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → program, US FoodsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Bitchin' SauceDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and SizzlerDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The seed round marks its consumer debut.
What sets it apart? Bare Beans is vertically integrated: the Huff family grows most of its beans on its own Idaho farm and owns the facility that cooks and packs them. That control extends to selecting bean varieties and running its own food safety protocols rather than using a co-packer.
The signal: Indigenous founders receive roughly 0.05% of US venture capital, making a venture-backed, Native woman-owned food company rare. "We invested in Bare Beans because Michelle had already done the hard part," said Paul Lacerte, co-founder and chief purpose officer of Raven Indigenous Capital Partners, the first Indigenous-owned venture firm on Turtle Island. "She built a strong revenue stream and national distribution from her family's own farm."
Read more: business.theantlersamerican.com
Image credit: erix!
