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Jay-Z Is A Billionaire And He Just Invested In A Black-Owned Vegan Cookie Company

Jay-Z Is A Billionaire And He Just Invested In A Black-Owned Vegan Cookie Company

Partake Foods
Partake Foods founders Denise and Jeremy Woodard with their daughter Vivi. Photo Courtesy of Partake Foods.

Jay-Z knows how to make money 99 different ways and now he hopes a vegan cookie company is one of them. Recently, named the first self-made hip-hop billionaire by Forbes, the rap icon and businessman continues to take the risks that earned him that crown in the first place.

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His latest investment is $1 million in seed funding to Partake Foods, a Black-owned allergen-free cookie company, reported Entrepreneur. The investment in the New Jersey-based company was made through Jay Z’s Marcy Venture Partners, along with partners The FactoryBackstage Capital, SoFi Ventures, and Beyond Meat’s Chief Growth Officer, Chuck Muth.

Partake was founded by former Coca-Cola national sales director Denise Woodard after her daughter was diagnosed with multiple food allergies, reported Black Enterprise. She initially used Kickstarter to raise more than $30,000 in funding to start the business.

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In a statement, Woodard said after leaving Coca-Cola, she hit the pavement every day until she was able to get her products in over 300 stores.

“When I left my career at Coca-Cola in 2017, I literally sold cookies out of my car for six months, demoing every day and meeting store managers and customers,” Woodard said.

Now with Jay-Z and partners’ help, Woodard expects to see their store count more than triple. She will also hire a team and expand the brand’s offerings.

“We expect to finish this year with a new pack offering and in over 1,000 stores. We are so excited to collaborate with the MVP and Factory teams, as they both bring a wealth of knowledge in brand building and scaling consumer companies,” Woodard said.

Marcy Venture Partners was founded last year by Jay-Z with partners Larry Walden of Walden Venture Capital and Jay Brown, Roc Nation president. The trio believes Partake is a sound investment.

“Partake has the ingredients to build a mass market brand: compelling values, a great tasting product, and a tenacious and experienced operator,” Marcus said.

Hats off to Jay-Z for continuing to school us on how its done.