Profitable snack brand Smash Foods raises $18M led by L Catterton
Smash Foods has secured $18 million in funding led by L Catterton to accelerate retail expansion, rewarding a strategic pivot from low-growth fruit spreads to high-velocity protein snacks.
Smash Foods has closed an $18 million funding round led by consumer growth equity firm L Catterton, with participation from The Family Fund and Eclair Partners. The capital injection arrives at a significant valuation markup to the company’s $5.5 million Series A raised just last year. L Catterton partner Evan Einstein will join the board of directors.
The investment underscores a dramatic shift in the company’s scale and financial profile. Smash Foods has surpassed 10,000 retail doors nationwide, more than tripling its business over the past year while pushing past profitability. The company’s ability to generate strong unit economics attracted institutional capital, particularly notable given the historically stagnant nature of the traditional grocery jam aisle.
The rapid acceleration stems from a strategic product extension launched in 2024. While Smash Foods built its initial following on chia-fortified fruit spreads sweetened with dates instead of added sugar, the introduction of Jammy Protein Bites fundamentally changed the business model. The nut butter snacks, filled with the company's fruit spreads, transitioned Smash from a niche condiment supplier into a scalable snack brand.
This format proved highly attractive to major retailers seeking healthier alternatives in the center store. After an initial national rollout of the bites at Whole Foods Market, Smash Foods rapidly secured shelf space across all Target stores, all Costco regions, and approximately half of Walmart locations. The company is now expanding the line with Mini Bites specifically targeted at the lunchbox segment.
L Catterton’s Einstein pointed to organic consumer demand rather than marketing spend as the primary driver for the firm’s investment. “The velocity that this brand has generated without almost any awareness behind marketing is some of the best that we’ve seen,” Einstein said. “We’re amazed by what Anna and Steve have been able to do.”
Cofounder Steven Ford noted that early difficulties in raising capital forced a highly disciplined approach to operations in a legacy category. “We were playing in a sleepy category with zombie-like consumer behavior with people grabbing the familiar checker lid and throwing it in the cart,” Ford said. “It forced us into building a strong business with really good unit economics.”
Eclair Partners, which led the 2025 Series A, doubled down on its position in this latest round. “I found the products delicious,” partner Laurent Marcel said. “I like brands that use real ingredients with better nutritional factors than the competition. Great products created by great people is what brought me to Anna and Steve.”
