Louisville, CO -- Quinn, a Louisville, CO-based natural foods company known for reimagining crazy delicious classic snacks and being a leader in ingredient transparency, announced they have closed a Series D round with room for additional investment.
The latest funding will allow Quinn to bolster its growing retail and eCommerce distribution channels, support new innovation and product lines, and continue their work to improve our food system with their Be Better. Do Better.™ mission. The $3 Million Series D financing round was led by the company’s entire Board of Directors as well as other current investors, including: BFG Partners, Echo Capital, John Foraker, Gil Fronzaglia, Sunil Thakor, and an investment arm of the Lissette family. “We are thrilled that our current group of investors continues to share in our vision and excitement about the brand’s momentum”, said Kristy Lewis, Founder and CEO of Quinn. “Each of our partners brings significant expertise to elevate our brand to its next stage of growth.”
Founded in 2010 with a mission to reimagine classic snacks by using only real ingredients and a commitment to transparency, Quinn has established itself as a leader in the salty snack category with distribution in over 7,000 stores nationwide. This past year, Quinn expanded into Walmart and saw increased distribution in Whole Foods Market, Kroger, and Wegmans. In addition to expanding in retail, Quinn has experienced large growth in their eCommerce business through premium retail partners such as Thrive Market, HungryRoot, and Imperfect Foods. Known for bringing industry firsts to market, Quinn also recently launched the first, paleo-friendly, grain-free pretzel chip available in Whole Foods Market and Amazon.
Excitement for the brand’s innovative snack offerings paired with this new distribution has attributed to 65% growth in revenue this year over last year and has elevated Quinn to the #2 pretzel brand in the Natural Channel and Whole Foods Market. In addition to opening new retail channels, Quinn has hired experienced natural foods industry and CPG veterans onto the management team. Last year, Brett Atkinson was named COO, formerly of “I and love and you” a natural pet food brand, and Boston Beer Company (maker of Samuel Adams beer). “I am honored to be part of such an amazing team and an incredible mission-driven brand.” Atkinson said. “I look forward to applying my passion and experience for growing CPG brands to help Quinn get to the next level.”
Quinn has bolstered its Sales team led by Al Matulis, as VP of Sales. Matulis’ most recent role was VP of Sales at Chicago Custom Foods, and prior to that, five years with the Kellogg Company running retail and account teams on both the Snacks and Morning Foods businesses in the Eastern Region. Furthermore, the company has also hired Katherine Siriani, Director of Sales – Natural; Jeff Nelson, Director of Sales – Conventional; and Stacey Benham, Director of Marketing. In addition, Quinn has expanded its Board of Directors by naming Hunt Killough as an independent board member (Justin’s, One Brands).
Since the company was founded, Quinn has been a thought leader in ingredient transparency through it’s Farm-to-Bag™ Initiative and is doubling down on their dedication to improving the food ecosystem with the recently launched Be Better. Do Better.™ mission. Rooted in advancing regenerative agriculture, Be Better. Do Better.™ identifies opportunities for farmers to integrate their crops into the company’s supply chain using these farming practices. Transitioning to regenerative agriculture is not only better for farmers, improving yield and getting them out of commodity markets, but it also is better for the planet as healthy soil can sequester carbon in the atmosphere.
In June, the company’s Be Better. Do Better.™ launched their first pilot project, planting 85 acres of sorghum on Tucker Farms in Western Nebraska. Once harvested, the crop will go to trial to be used in Quinn pretzels. Learn more about their mission at QuinnSnacks.com.
ABOUT QUINN: Quinn is shaking up snacks by delivering industry firsts using only 100% REAL ingredients and a dedication to transparency. They delivered the 1st microwave popcorn in a patented PURE POP® bag made of compostable paper free of chemicals, plastic and heat conducting susceptors made with only REAL ingredients and non-GMO organic kernels; the 1st pretzels on the market made with whole grain, naturally gluten-free sorghum; the 1st gluten-free peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets, and the 1st grain-free paleo pretzel chips.
Quinn is dedicated to sustainability. Quinn’s ‘Be Better. Do Better.’ initiative is a commitment to support and seek out ag partners who are taking steps to improve their practices, thereby improving our food supply and environment. In addition to being a change agent in ag, Be Better. Do Better™. is dedicated to continuously finding opportunities to improve in sustainability, sourcing, and social responsibility. They back up their Farm to Bag™ initiative with details about their ingredients, growers and suppliers right on their website.
Founder/CEO Kristy Lewis was chosen by Whole Foods as one of the 'Women Makers: Raising the Bar' highlighting women and industry leaders who inspire and motivate others to create new and better products. She was honored as one of the Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs by Fortune Magazine, Quinn Snacks was named Snack Producer of the Year by Snack Food and Wholesale Bakery and Quinn has won multiple awards for innovation and packaging.