Lotus Bakeries Adds IQBAR To Venture Portfolio

Belgium-based Lotus Bakeries announced last Thursday that it has taken a minority stake in functional food brand IQBAR, leading the bar and hydration company’s Series B funding round.

Lotus invested through its venture arm, Fast Forward 2032 (FF2032), whose other holdings include stakes in brands like Partake Foods and The Good Crisp Company.

IQBAR has raised about $4.3 million since it was launched in 2017, IQBAR founder Will Nitze told NOSH. The brand’s first institutional investment came in February 2021 with a Series A round led by CircleUp Growth Partners that netted nearly $2.8 million.

CircleUp also participated in the Series B but IQBAR knew going into this funding round that it would need to find a new lead investor and saw FF2032 as the perfect match to help the company efficiently structure its business supply chain operations, Nitze told NOSH. “From the get-go, we pretty much knew that we both need to, and candidly want to, find another lead to maximize the number of valuable stakeholders that we can have on the team.”

“It’s a really exciting vote of confidence from a global market leader and we’re excited to work with them,” he added.

Nitze said that the partnership will mostly center on “informational transfer of value versus intertwining supply chains or operational processes.”

Multinational snack company Lotus Bakeries have been increasingly expanding into the U.S. In 2019, the company built a manufacturing facility for its popular Biscoff cookie brand and has made key investments in the better-for-you food category. In addition to IQBAR, The Good Crisp and Partake Foods, it has invested in three other brands through FF2032 with ownership stakes in U.K. sourdough cracker company Peter’s Yard, U.S. snack brand Love Corn and Netherlands-based Oot Granola.

“So far, IQBAR has already shown good traction with consumers and we have strong belief the brand will continue to perform strong,” Lotus Bakeries CEO Jan Boone said in a statement. “Furthermore we believe in the team and we especially admire Will’s hyper focus on business fundamentals, meticulous execution and solid capital efficiency.”

IQBAR was founded by Nitze as a keto- and paleo-friendly snack food company focused on cognitive health. The bars are fortified brain health promoting ingredients like Omega-3s, MCT oil, Vitamin E, choline and adaptogenic Lion’s Mane mushrooms.

The brand was built online through ecommerce and DTC channels, with products moving into brick-and-mortar retail steadily over the years. According to FF2032’s press release, IQBAR is sold in roughly 8,000 stores across the U.S.

“The weighting has always favored ecommerce, but I actually think in 2023 it will be roughly an even split on revenue between ecommerce and brick and mortar,” Nitze said. “The most prominent gains in growth will be in brick-and-mortar moving forward. But we’ll still steadily grow our ecommerce business as well.”

In January 2022, the better-for-you food company expanded from its first product line of protein bars and launched a four SKU line of IQMIX hydration sticks in Lemon Lime, Blood Orange, Blueberry Pomegranate and Peach Mango flavors. The hydration product is focused on growth online but is currently testing retail distribution with a partnership in Wegmans stores (who already carry IQBARs). The store count has yet to be determined but is expected to roll out in late January.

Additionally, the company will be focusing some of the new capital towards the release later this year of its next product: a functional, instant coffee called IQJOE. The instant coffee will also promote the brand’s ethos of benefiting cognitive health through adaptogenic ingredients. It will be available DTC on the company website and through Amazon initially.

IQBAR is not the only cognitive health, CPG food company expanding its product mix in other categories. Brainiac Foods has branched out from its roots as a kids fruit pouch company into bars, spreads and supplements, while Rob Dyrdek-backed functional food company Mindright jumped into snack chips last summer.