LesserEvil
Acquisition in 2025
LesserEvil LLC, established in 2004 and headquartered in Danbury, Connecticut, is a manufacturer specializing in healthier snack foods. The company initially offered potato-based puffs and flavored low-carb popcorns but refocused its mission under owner Charles Coristine in 2011 to provide genuinely healthier options. LesserEvil now produces organic, sustainably sourced snacks, prioritizing transparency and environmental responsibility. Its products are sold through U.S. stores and online platforms.
Sour Strips
Acquisition in 2024
Sour Strips is a firm with a loyal community of sugar addicts and candy enthusiasts.
Blue Stripes
Series B in 2024
Blue Stripes, headquartered in New York, is a unique coffee shop specializing in beverages, chocolates, and shakes. It offers an experiential retail concept, combining the goodness of cocoa with a distinctive customer experience. The company's innovative approach to chocolate production involves upcycling the whole cacao pod, preserving and utilizing previously wasted nutrient-rich parts, resulting in healthier chocolate products.
Keychain
Venture Round in 2024
Keychain is a CPG production platform that collaborates with retailers and brands to streamline and simplify the process of developing items that consumers adore.
Rob’s Backstage Popcorn
Series A in 2023
Rob’s Backstage Popcorn is a snacking brand.
Dot's Pretzels
Acquisition in 2021
Dot's Pretzels is a snack food manufacturer specializing in gourmet seasoned pretzels. The company offers a unique product line that features a top-secret seasoning blend, giving their pretzels a distinct flavor. These snacks are available in various sizes and are distributed throughout North America, reaching customers in grocery stores, hardware stores, and convenience stores. Dot's Pretzels aims to provide a healthy and flavorful snack option for consumers looking for homemade-style salty snacks.
Lily's Sweets
Acquisition in 2021
Lily's Sweets is a manufacturer of chocolate and confectionery products based in Boulder, Colorado. The company is recognized as a market leader in better-for-you confections, offering a range of delicious chocolate bars, baking bits, and baking bars that contain less than 1 gram of sugar per serving. Lily's Sweets specializes in creating all-natural chocolate treats that are sweetened with plant-based, calorie-free sweeteners. This commitment to healthier ingredients ensures that their products are certified gluten-free and non-GMO verified, making them an appealing choice for health-conscious consumers. With a nationally distributed presence, Lily's Sweets continues to provide indulgent yet guilt-free options for chocolate lovers.
Bonumose LLC is a food ingredient manufacturer based in Charlottesville, Virginia, founded in 2016. The company specializes in producing sugar substitutes, including tagatose and allulose, aimed at addressing health issues such as diabetes, obesity, and tooth decay. Bonumose focuses on developing affordable, low-glycemic, and non-cariogenic sweeteners that facilitate glycemic control and promote improved gut health. Through its enzymatic technology, Bonumose aims to provide healthier alternatives to traditional sugars for food manufacturers, establishing itself as a trusted source in the food ingredient industry. The company's commitment to ethical business practices underscores its mission to make a positive impact on public health while delivering delicious and nutritious products.
Quinn Snacks
Series D in 2020
Quinn Snacks is a developer of an online food ordering platform used to give people the choice to snack mindfully. Its platform offers a variety of flavored popcorn choosing real ingredients from trusted farmers and suppliers so the environmental impact can be lessened that enable users to shop for healthy snacks online. It was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.
ONE Brands
Acquisition in 2019
ONE Brands, LLC is a producer and marketer of low sugar nutritional snack bars, headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Founded in 1999, the company, formerly known as Oh Yeah! Nutrition, offers a diverse range of protein bars that contain 20 grams of protein and only 1 gram of sugar, all of which are certified gluten-free. Its product line features various flavors, including pumpkin pie, cinnamon roll, chocolate chip cookie dough, and white chocolate truffle, catering to health-conscious consumers and athletes. Additionally, ONE Brands manufactures a line of bars sweetened with stevia, known as One Basix. The company distributes its products through retail partners across the United States and online stores. Since September 2019, ONE Brands has operated as a subsidiary of The Hershey Company.
Pirate Brands
Acquisition in 2018
Pirate Brands, LLC, originally founded as Robert's American Gourmet Food, LLC in 1987, is a manufacturer of snack products based in Parsippany, New Jersey. The company specializes in a variety of snack foods, including cheese products such as mac and cheese and aged white cheddars, as well as puffed rice and corn snacks, potato chips, and corn sticks. Pirate Brands markets its products through both online platforms and retail outlets across the United States. The company has undergone several changes in ownership and branding but has maintained its focus on delivering innovative snack options to consumers.
Amplify Snack Brands
Acquisition in 2017
Amplify Snack Brands is a snack food company headquartered in Austin, Texas, specializing in the development, marketing, and distribution of better-for-you snack products. The company offers a diverse range of snacks, including ready-to-eat popcorn in various flavors such as original, white cheddar, and jalapeño, as well as kettle-cooked potato chips, vegetable crisps, and tortilla chips. Their brands, including SkinnyPop, Tyrrells, and Paqui, cater to health-conscious consumers with products made from non-GMO and major allergen-free ingredients. Amplify also provides protein-based snacks under the Oatmega and Oatmega Kids brand names, featuring protein bars and cookies in various flavors. The company sells its products through a variety of channels, including grocery stores, convenience stores, and online platforms, and has established a loyal customer base across North America. Founded in 2010, Amplify Snack Brands was previously known as TA Holdings 1, Inc. and became a subsidiary of The Hershey Company in 2018.
Ripple Brand Collective
Acquisition in 2016
At ripple brand collective we believe that sometimes it’s the simple ideas that make the largest impact. Driven by natural ingredients, unique product forms and inspirational packaging, we are committed to bringing innovative twists on traditional favorites to the marketplace.
KRAVE Jerky
Acquisition in 2015
KRAVE Jerky is a producer of culinary-style meat and protein snacks based in Sonoma, California. Founded in 2009, the company specializes in crafting all-natural jerky made from beef, pork, and turkey, offering a range of products that includes various meat cuts, pork rinds, and plant-based jerky. KRAVE aims to elevate the jerky category by providing healthier and more flavorful options, breaking away from traditional, chemically processed products. By focusing on premium flavor profiles and quality ingredients, KRAVE represents a modern approach to snacking that appeals to health-conscious consumers seeking gourmet meat options.
The Allan Candy Company
Acquisition in 2014
The Allan Candy Company is a prominent Canadian manufacturer of confectionery products, recognized for its iconic brands such as Allan, Big Foot, Hot Lips, and Laces. The company specializes in a diverse range of chocolate and sugar-based confections, including soft and hard candies like gummies, jujubes, gum drops, toffees, mints, and candy canes. Additionally, Allan Candy produces both solid and hollow chocolates, as well as seasonal confectionery items, catering to a wide audience and various market demands. With a strong reputation in the confectionery industry, Allan Candy continues to be a favorite among consumers in Canada.
Shanghai Golden Monkey
Acquisition in 2013
Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Co., Ltd. is a prominent manufacturer and marketer of sweets and chocolates in China. Established in 1996 and based in Shanghai, the company offers a diverse range of products, including milk candies, chocolates, cocoa, dairy products, creamy candy, instant noodles, jellies, fruit milk, and chewing gum. Originally known as Henan Jisihou Group, it underwent significant restructuring in 2008, leading to its current name and the establishment of Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Group Co., Ltd. The company operates five core enterprises, including Zhoukou, Xianyang, and Shenyang Golden Monkey Food Co., Ltd., as well as Inner Mongolia Genghis Khan Dairy Co., Ltd. Additionally, it collaborates with over ten cooperative enterprises across various cities in China, enhancing its reach within the market. As of July 2018, Shanghai Golden Monkey Food Co., Ltd. functions as a subsidiary of Henan Yuxiang Food Technology Co., Ltd.
Tri-Us
Acquisition in 2012
Tri-Us, Inc. produces and markets natural protein shakes for athletes. It markets products online, as well as through retail shops in the United States.
Brookside Foods
Acquisition in 2011
Brookside Foods Ltd. is a privately held confectionery company located in Abbotsford, British Columbia. It specializes in the manufacturing of chocolate products, particularly known for its unique chocolate-covered fruit juice pieces, nuts, and dried fruit. The company's innovative approach to chocolate confections has established it as a notable player in the chocolate industry, focusing on quality and distinctive flavors to appeal to a diverse consumer base.
Van Houten (Singapore) Pte.
Acquisition in 2009
Van Houten (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. manufactures and markets consumer chocolate products.
Hershey India Pvt
Acquisition in 2007
Hershey India Pvt Ltd. manufactures and markets beverages, confectioneries, and syrups. It offers various flavored fruit drinks, pulps, nectars, purees, juices, and soymilks; flavored lollipops and candies; and chocolate and strawberry syrups.
Dagoba Organic Chocolates
Acquisition in 2006
Dagoba Organic Chocolates is a producer of high-quality natural and organic chocolates based in Ashland, Oregon. The company specializes in a variety of chocolate products, including chocolate bars, hot chocolate, and baking ingredients. Renowned for its commitment to quality, Dagoba emphasizes the use of organic ingredients in its offerings, appealing to consumers seeking healthier and sustainably sourced options.
Joseph Schmidt Confections
Acquisition in 2005
Joseph Schmidt Confections was a San Francisco-based chocolatier, which created gourmet confections with imported Belgian chocolate.
Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker
Acquisition in 2005
Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker is a prominent producer of high-cacao-content dark chocolate, known for its distinctive flavors and premium quality. The company specializes in creating a diverse range of confectioneries, including fine baking chocolates, tasting bars, and cocoa powder, all made from carefully sourced cacao from around the world. Scharffen Berger emphasizes rich textures and complex flavor profiles in its products, catering to chocolate enthusiasts and culinary professionals alike. Through its commitment to quality and craftsmanship, the company has established itself as a leader in the artisanal chocolate market.
Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut
Acquisition in 2004
Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation, founded in 1946 and based in Keaau, Hawaii, is the world's largest processor of macadamia nuts. The company produces a variety of macadamia nut products, including natural, flavored, and chocolate-covered nuts, as well as nut-based confections, cookies, and snack bags. Mauna Loa sells its products online, distributing them throughout the United States. Originally named Royal Iolani, the company changed its name to Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Corporation in 1976. It was a subsidiary of The Hershey Company from 2004 until 2015, when it was acquired by Hawaiian Host, Inc.
Grupo Lorena
Acquisition in 2004
Grupo Lorena's leading products in Mexico and the United States include Pelon Pelo Rico(R) and Crayon(R).
Visagis
Acquisition in 2001
Visagis operates as a food manufacturer and marketer. Visagis primarily focuses on dessert type foods such as cakes.
Y&S Candies
Acquisition in 1977
Y&S Candies operates as the makers of Twizzlers licorice candies. Y&S Candies operates as a subsidiary of The Hershey Company.