Jay-Z Leads $1 Million Investment in Vegan Cookie Brand 

This week, vegan cookie brand Partake Foods announced that it closed a $1 million funding round led by Marcy Venture Partners, a venture capital firm funded by Jay-Z (born Shawn Carter), Jay Brown, and Larry Marcus. Founded in 2016, Partake specializes in allergen-free cookies that founder, and former Coca-Cola executive, Denise Woodward created for her young daughter. “When I left my career at Coca-Cola in 2017, I literally sold cookies out of my car for six months, demo-ing every day and meeting store managers and customers,” Woodward said. Partake currently distributes its cookies—in flavors such as Carrot Oat, Sweet Potato, and Double Chocolate Chip—to 300 retailers and aims to use the new funding to expand distribution to 1,000 retailers, along with growing its team and product offerings. “Partake has the ingredients to build a mass market brand: compelling values, a great tasting product, and a tenacious and experienced operator,” Marcus, the managing director of MVP, said. “We are honored to back Denise and the team and help grow their business.” Carter—who, as of this week, is officially the first rapper to amass a $1 billion dollar fortune—participated last month in a $300 million Series E funding round for plant-based company Impossible Foods, along with fellow musician Katy Perry, television personality Trevor Noah, and tennis star Serena Williams, amongst others. Alongside nutritionist Marco Borges, Carter and wife Beyoncé Knowles-Carter helped to create vegan meal company 22 Days Nutrition, which recently expanded into a new concept, The Greenprint—a multi-pronged project that promotes plant-based living through an online resource, book, and upcoming documentary.