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Mondelēz invests in snacking company

Mondelēz International has made a minority investment in Hu (as in “Human”) Master Holdings, the parent company of both Hu Products and Hu Kitchen, a US-based snacking company.

This is the second venture investment Mondelēz International is making as part of SnackFutures, its innovation and venture hub aimed at unlocking snacking growth opportunities around the world.

This investment falls into two of SnackFutures’ high-growth strategic priorities: well-being and premium.

Founded in 2012 as a family business by Jason H. Karp and siblings Jordan Brown and Jessica (Brown) Karp, Hu began as Hu Kitchen in New York City, a high-end kitchen and market focused on paleo-inspired foods with simple, real ingredients.

The Hu Kitchen market section quickly became a proof-of-concept CPG testing ground, prompting the company to expand its vegan and paleo-friendly chocolate products (free of refined sugar, soy, dairy and gluten). Today, Hu has developed into a premium, multi-SKU brand portfolio of wellness-focused, vegan/paleo-friendly snacking products with a devoted following.

“As the global snacking leader, we’re on a mission to lead the future of snacking and push the boundaries of what’s possible. Investing in Hu offers our company an opportunity to do exactly that,” said Tim Cofer, Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer of Mondelēz International. “The Hu brand sits at the convergence of key growing consumer trends. Building on its initial success in chocolate, we believe there’s an exciting opportunity to continue expanding the Hu proposition into a broad health-focused snacking platform across categories. And, with an in-house test kitchen and insights lab, they have a unique ability to quickly test and learn.”

“Jordan, Jessica and I started Hu because we wanted a place where we could trust and understand every ingredient in our food,” said Jason H. Karp, Chairman and Co-Founder of Hu. We chose Mondelēz International as a minority investor because we believe their resources, strengths and progressive vision of SnackFutures can help us accelerate positive change within snacking. This partnership should allow the Hu platform to grow and reach more people in a better and broader way than on our own.”

Co-founder Jordan Brown added: “Hu is our passion, and we’re thrilled to fuel its growth with Mondelēz International as our partner. Our perpetual goal is to marry great taste with no weird ingredients, and we’re big believers that using these simpler ingredients can make people feel and perform better than they thought possible. Our new partnership will help us advance this ‘Get Back To Human’ concept to a global audience.”