By Elizabeth Crawford with reporting by Asia Sherman
A pioneer in the legume-based pasta segment, Banza is training its crosshairs on adjacent “refined grain categories,” with an ambitious goal of capturing 10% of their market share just as it has for pasta in some leading retailers.
First came chickpea pasta, now with a new foodservice partnership with Oath Pizza in the New England area and expanding retail distribution in the frozen pizza aisle, Banza is unlocking demand for chickpea-crust pizza.
Chickpea-fueled brand Banza has raised $20m in a financing round led by Enlightened Hospitality Investments and Prelude Growth Partners. Both will take a seat on the board.
Chickpea-fueled brand Banza is hoping it can emulate its success in the pasta aisle with a chickpea rice that delivers three times the protein, double the fiber, and 30% fewer net carbs than brown rice.