Partake Foods, a startup based in Jersey City, New Jersey, won the Google for Entrepreneurs Exchange: Black Founders pitch at the American Underground on Friday afternoon.
The company won a trip to the Bay area in San Francisco to network with potential funders and experience the West Coast ecosystem.
Denise Woodard, founder of the company, said she was inspired by her daughter’s struggle with food allergies. “I set out to find food options,” she told the packed room at the American Underground@Main in Durham.
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“I was frustrated by store offerings,” she explained. “They were full of sugar and preservatives.” Healthy meals that actually taste good were hard to find.
Her daughter was far from alone. One in 13 children in the U.S. has a food allergy and projections suggest it will increase to one in ten by 2020.
So, Woodard created Partake Foods, which sells allergen-free healthy cookies that taste good. Flavors include the most popular, Chocolate Chip, Carrot Oat, and Sweet Potato.
The company ran a kickstarter campaign that finished in the top one percent of all food kickstarters.
The product has a nine-month shelf life.
Partake is already selling its products via Amazon and a regional Whole Foods division, is seeking $500,000 to grow its brand awareness.
