A better-for-you beef jerky startup just hauled in $80 million in private equity funding, valuing the company at north of $200 million.
Chomps, a meat snack brand that makes beef, venison and turkey jerky, raised the cash from private-equity firm Stride Consumer Partners.
The minority investment from Stride values Chomps between $200 million and $300 million, CEO Peter Maldonado told Chicago Inno.
Chomps' revenue run rate last quarter hit $100 million, the company said.
Officially headquartered in Naples, Florida, Chomps has an office in Chicago with more than two dozen employees, including co-founder and COO Rashid Ali.
Chomps has set out to be a healthier alternative to Slim Jim's and other traditional jerky brands. The startup's jerky is paleo-friendly, gluten-free, Whole30-approved and non-GMO, the company says, while also boasting no hormones, antibiotics or added sugar.
Chomps sells its products in more than 18,000 retail stores, including Walmart, Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.
The startup has been bootstrapped to date, it says, and plans to use the cash infusion to increase its brand awareness and grow its team.
Chomps is among a new wave of food upstarts that are taking aim at incumbent brands with a better-for-you approach.
In Chicago, egg white-based snack chip Quevos has raised millions, while doing $2 million in sales last year, for its healthy snack brand. Evergreen Waffles has created a healthier alternative to Eggo Waffles.
And Every Body Eat, a startup backed by former McDonald's CEO Don Thompson's VC firm Cleveland Avenue, has built an allergen-free snack brand that's taking off with consumers.
