Banza, a US start-up business that makes pasta from chickpeas, has raised US$20m in a funding round.
The round was led by Enlightened Hospitality Investments – the growth equity fund affiliated with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group – and Prelude Growth Partners, a CPG-focused equity fund.
Banza, founded in Detroit, Michigan, in 2014 by brother Brian and Scott Rudolph, said it will primarily use the money to grow its team, support marketing efforts and commercialise its product pipeline.
Its products are already available in more than 12,000 retail outlets nationwide and the company boasts of being the fastest-selling pasta brand in grocers Whole Foods and Target.
Brian Rudolph, the company’s CEO, said: “It’s hard to imagine more impactful partners than EHI and Prelude, given their unique strengths across foodservice, brand building, and team culture. Their combined expertise will help us realise our mission of making nutritious, sustainable foods more accessible.”
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Beyond pasta, Banza recently launched chickpea mac & cheese and chickpea rice.
The company has opened its own manufacturing facility and has partnered with US-based chickpea farmers.
Mark Leavitt, co-founder and a managing partner at Enlightened Hospitality Investments, said: “Our investment in Banza, a company that is successfully disrupting categories that consumers love but where they have been offered little in the way of innovation, is a perfect example of our strategy being put to work. We have been closely watching consumer interest in plant-based protein within the foodservice and CPG industries and are excited to watch Banza continue to capitalise on these trends.”
Banza was one of the start-up businesses included in US Greek yogurt firm Chobani’s incubator in its first year of operation in 2016.
