Denise Woodard is an entrepreneur who refused to give up, give in, or accept "no" for an answer. To establish a range of allergy-friendly snacks inspired by her daughter's experience with food allergies, Woodard embarked on a voyage of discovery and tenacity. She encountered roughly 86 investment rejections along the way, had to make several road trips selling merchandise from her car, and entirely depleted her 401(k) to become the first black woman to raise $1 million in seed money for a packaged food firm, Partake Foods.

Launched in 2017 using Woodard's savings, Partake has dominated the market for allergy-friendly foods by offering a variety of delicious cookies. More than 8,000 stores currently carry Partake Foods, including Target, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and others. A wide range of baking mixes, including brownie mix, blondie mix, and a pizza crust mix, was released by Partake in 2021 as part of the company's expansion of its allergy-friendly product line. In addition, pancake and waffle mixes from Partake are now sold in some Target locations around the country, according to recent announcements.

Source: BOBE Group