A Bucks County startup has been selected to participate in a Target accelerator.
Dr. Brownies, known for its vegan desserts, is among 30 businesses in the fourth cohort of Target Forward Founders, the Fortune 100 retailer's accelerator geared toward historically under-resourced founders.
Headquartered in Richboro, Dr. Brownies is one of 14 food and drink businesses tapped for participation and the only company from Greater Philadelphia.
Dr. Brownies founder Toni Lorraine Johnson said she was attracted to Target's program for its focus on retail readiness, especially in underserved communities. Retail is an expanding focus for Dr. Brownies and Johnson, who earlier this year told PHL Inno she projects growing wholesale to 40% of business in 2023 and 65% of business in 2024. At present, wholesale accounts for about 20% of business, with another 20% coming from retail. The remaining 60% presently comes from the catering arm of Dr. Brownies.
Expanding wholesale and retail operations will be key to growth, and Johnson is eyeing opening her own distribution facility in Bucks County to that end.
Johnson founded Dr. Brownies in 2020 and launched in the market in 2021. Dr. Brownies offers a variety of vegan brownies and cookies, as well as refrigerated batters of both, which she likens to brands like Toll House Cookies, only vegan.
Johnson said she hopes the accelerator helps her with “really building an ecosystem for Dr. Brownies where we can thrive.”
Target Forward Founders, which launched Tuesday, runs for 10 weeks and provides education, tools and connections to help businesses scale.
Johnson declined to share if the accelerator includes an investment or pitch opportunity.
Johnson earlier this year said she was aiming to raise $500,000 to scale her business, a figure she says has now doubled to $1 million. She’s still determining through what path – whether venture capital, crowdfunding, grants or other avenues – she wants to raise that funding.
“Really trying to tap into the different resources is going to be truly important for me to be able to scale because there will be an investor to say, 'Hey, I like your idea,'” she said.
So far, Dr. Brownies has raised about $27,000 in grants from the Bucks Built Startup Fund’s partnership with Penn Community Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Sisters in Business and Venture Café in Philadelphia.
By the end of the Target accelerator, Johnson said she hopes to be retail-ready across her various products.
