August 19, 2014

Oh, yes you candy! raising $350K for growth

LONGMONT – Oh, yes you candy! LLC, maker of Missy J’s Truffley Treats, is working on a $350,000 funding round as it gears up for another big year of growth. 
 
Founder Jodi Feinhor-Dennis said Tuesday that the money will be used to add equipment and working capital. She said the three-person company will also be adding a chief operating officer to “help take the company to the next level,” as well as at least one other employee in the short term. 
 
“It’s a very significant round,” Feinhor-Dennis said. 
 
Feinhor-Dennis founded Longmont-based Oh, yes you candy! in 2011 after a career in graphic and interior design. After closing her design firm and showroom in 2010 as the economy sagged, Feinhor-Dennis was in the process of a relaunch in 2011 when she came up with the idea for the candy company. While crafting a chocolate giveaway for her design company launch, Feinhor-Dennis decided to make the treats out of carob instead of chocolate due to her own body’s rejection of the sweet. 
 
“The candy happened kind of accidentally,” she said. 
 
Missy J’s treats are all made out of carob, a legume that doesn’t contain the same stimulants as chocolate. The truffles come in a wide range of flavors, while the company also makes peanut butter cups made with carob in place of chocolate. More treats are on the way, Feinhor-Dennis said, as the company looks to branch out into a wider offering of treats beyond carob. 
 
“We focus on low glycemic or low stimulant ingredients that still create remarkable flavors that can rival the best chocolates out there,” Feinhor-Dennis said. “Some people don’t even know it’s not chocolate.” 
 
Missy J’s treats are in about 150 natural grocery chain stores across the country, including Lucky’s, Alfalfa’s, Vitamin Cottage and Whole Foods stores in the Rocky Mountain region. 
 
Feinhor-Dennis – who self-funded the company until a small funding round last year wth Boulder-based Red Idea Partners – said the company is aiming for 40 to 50 percent revenue growth this year that would push Oh, yes you candy! into six-figure territory. That’s after 150-percent growth last year.  
 
Oh, yes you candy! is based at 1820 Industrial Circle in the same building as several other natural food and snack-makers like Olomomo Nut Co. and Bhakti Chai. 
 

LONGMONT – Oh, yes you candy! LLC, maker of Missy J’s Truffley Treats, is working on a $350,000 funding round as it gears up for another big year of growth. 
 
Founder Jodi Feinhor-Dennis said Tuesday that the money will be used to add equipment and working capital. She said the three-person company will also be adding a chief operating officer to “help take the company to the next level,” as well as at least one other employee in the short term. 
 
“It’s a very significant round,” Feinhor-Dennis said. 
 
Feinhor-Dennis founded Longmont-based Oh, yes you…

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