SkinnyDipped has closed a Series A fundraising round of $12 million led by Miami-based entrepreneur David Grutman, with investments from Hollywood names and athletes.
Amy Schumer, Mark Wahlberg, Becky G, Post Malone, Tan France, Odell Beckham Jr. and Frances Tiafoe have backed the company in this round. Other investors include Alesso, Kevin Durant, Kaskade, Steve Aoki, Marshmello, Guy Oseary, Sebastian Ingrosso, Shep Gordon, Mack Maine, Bruno Soares, Rebeca León, Isabela Grutman, Ryan Tedder, Loren Ridinger, Wassim Joseph Slaiby, Joel McHale, Gary Brecka, Charissa Davidovici, Rich Kleiman, Moe Shalizi, and Eli Sones and Matthew Halper of Two Friends.
Founded by mother-daughter duo Breezy and Val Griffith in 2013, SkinnyDipped offers sweet snacks — options like almonds dipped in dark chocolate cocoa with “no fake stuff” and “way less sugar,” as noted on the company site.
“It was really an at-home, friends-and-family style moment, in all honesty. SkinnyDipped was not born in a conference room,” Breezy, chief executive officer, told WWD of launching the company. “Our family had lost a close friend and we were inspired by his zest for life. He reminded us to go after what we believed in. Our family has a deep love for delicious food. For us it’s about bringing people together over a long dinner or a glass of wine. My mom and I wanted to create something together that gave others this same feeling of joy. We loved to snack on nuts and chocolate but there was nothing on the market at the time that offered the balance we wanted.”
Looking back, a significant moment for the company was when their products entered Target, Breezy said. “In terms of a trackable sort of inflection point, our big break came when Target placed its first order in 2017. That was the takeoff.”
Based in Seattle, they’re now a team of 30 “and growing.” With the new funds, the company plans to continue retail expansion (it’s now also found at Costco, Kroger and Publix), focus on innovation, enhance marketing, branding and support philanthropic efforts, according to Breezy.
“From Amy Schumer and Becky G to Post Malone and Odell Beckham Jr., our investors in this round are diverse, eclectic and high profile,” she continued. “We have musicians, athletes, actors and actresses and more.”
Of Grutman, she added: “He’s an incredible networker. He sees opportunities across the entire ecosystem of popular culture, and his passion for building iconic brands makes him the perfect partner for this next chapter.”
She went on, “We’re an early-stage business, so we’ve never had the luxury of big marketing budgets to propel our brand. We’ve grown largely organically thanks to positive word of mouth and broad distribution. We also have focused on growing our social media presence, which not only helps with awareness but also gives us a great chance to listen to and engage with our fans. With this funding, we look forward to having more flexibility to go bigger with some of our marketing activations, but never want to lose that focus on building our community.”
