Flings Nets $2.3M Seed Round
Toaster pastry brand Flings has closed a new investment as it plans to expand on its success at Target to move deeper into retail.
The better-for-you brand landed $2.3 million in a seed round from angel investors. Flings would not disclose the group of investors, but did report that the lead investor was new to the cap table and the round included $300,000 from a previous investor.
The Montreal-based brand launched online in 2023 and was approached by a Target buyer to do a trial run in 500 stores last February. The successful test led to an expansion into an additional 1,000 locations by September.
At that point, co-founders Dino Vassiliou and Benjamin Outmezguine decided to raise additional capital to fuel a broader rollout into at least two new retailers in 2025. Previously, Vassiliou and Outmezguine founded and operated the Canadian protein ice cream brand Coolways before selling it to their manufacturer.
The brand has four SKUs: Sticky Cinnamon, Summer Strawberry, Hot Chocolate and Oozy Blueberry. The latter two are currently only available online.
As part of its Target partnership, Flings learned that its positioning around ketogenic diets was less important than the brand’s low-sugar and high-protein credentials.
“We target the sweet spot of 10 grams of protein versus 20 or 25 grams. We find that 10 grams is high enough to get that protein callout, which is what people are looking for while maintaining good taste,” he said.
The brand removed sugar alcohols from its sweetener system and focused on making a clean-label product by switching from seed oils to coconut oil in its formulation.
“Using honey instead of erythritol allowed us to improve the product and drive velocities,” said Vassiliou. “Overall, the flavor profile is much better, and it also improved the texture of our dough.”
Flings is not the only brand attempting to pull share from Kellanova’s Pop-Tarts. Ghetto Gastro was part of the Target toaster pastry set but the brand removed its products from the retailer in November.
Building on its success at Target, the brand is looking towards natural and club channel partners as its next step into retail. Flings intends to take a similar approach when it goes into new retail chains, investing on endcaps and promotions to drive trial. Considering Target has limited availability for sampling, Flings also sees an opportunity to learn more about its consumers through demos.
As the brand opens up new retail doors, it is also in R&D for new flavors and formats where “protein and indulgence are lacking,” Vassiliou said.
“Making Flings a household name in breakfast and snacking is the priority right now.”
