Newly Crowned Billionaire Jay-Z Just Invested in a Cookie Company The mogul's Marcy Venture Partners led a seed round for allergen-free cookie maker Partake Foods.

By Stephen J. Bronner

entrepreneur daily
Kevin Mazur | Getty Images

Jay-Z isn't just one of the biggest rappers on the planet; he also owns a record label and holds investments in art, real estate and tech companies such as Uber. In fact, over the past decade, the Brooklyn native amassed a fortune of at least $1 billion, according to Forbes.

Sean Carter's latest investment, through his firm Marcy Venture Partners, is in New Jersey-based Partake Foods, a maker of allergen-free cookies. The $1 million seed round was led by Marcy and included The FactoryBackstage Capital, SoFi Ventures, and Beyond Meat's Chief Growth Officer, Chuck Muth.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Partake Foods

"Partake has the ingredients to build a mass market brand: compelling values, a great tasting product, and a tenacious and experienced operator," said Larry Marcus, Marcy Venture Partners co-founder and managing director, in a press release. "We are honored to back [Partake Founder] Denise [Woodard] and the team and help grow their business."

Related: 'If You Don't Stand for Something, You Seem to Go Away Fairly Quickly,' Says the Founder of The Gluten Free Bar

Former Coca-Cola national sales director Woodard started Partake Foods in 2016 after her daughter was diagnosed with multiple food allergies. Woodard raised more than $30,000 on Kickstarter to initially fund the business.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Partake Foods

"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 in a release. "Our products can now be found in over 300 stores, and we expect to finish this year … 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."

The press releases says Woodard will use the funds to build out a team, offer different sizes and grow the brand.

Stephen J. Bronner

Entrepreneur Staff

News Director

Stephen J. Bronner writes mostly about packaged foods. His weekly column is The Digest. He is very much on top of his email.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

The man who married a hologram in Japan can no longer communicate with his virtual wife

The software that allowed the interaction is no longer supported and the man can no longer interact with the hologram with which he had a relationship for years.

Starting a Business

I Was a 25-Year-Old Nurse When I Started a Side Hustle to Combat Anxiety. It Made $1 Million in 7 Months — Then Sold for a Life-Changing Amount.

Sarah Michelle Boes knew there had to be a better way to prepare for her stress-inducing nurse practitioner's exam — so she created it.

Business News

MacKenzie Scott Donates $640 Million to Non-Profits After Elon Musk's 'Ex-Wife' Comment on X

The winning applicants span 38 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.

Growing a Business

How to Provide More Value to Your Customers And Scale Your Company

Here are three value-add products and services that can help your business scale.

Business News

Glassdoor Under Fire for Reportedly Adding Real Names to Profiles Without Consent

Legacy users didn't have to input their real names when accessing Glassdoor — only an email address. Now, all of that has changed.