Creating a better future one cookie and a time:

Denise Woodard’s journey exemplifies passion, perseverance, and purpose. From a mother seeking better food options for her child to a trailblazing entrepreneur breaking barriers in the CPG space, her story is one of transformation and impact. As Partake Foods continues to grow, so does its mission—to create an inclusive, delicious, and better future for all.

Denise left her corporate role and bootstrapped the brand until becoming the first black woman to raise over a million publicly for a CPG food startup. To date, she has raised over $25M from investors including HER, Rihanna, CircleUp Growth Partners, FF2032 and Marcy Venture Partners. Partake was named #151 on the Inc 5000 list in 2023. And on top of all that, she is also the founder of 501c3, Black Futures Fellowship, an annual program that matches active HBCU students with paid internships in the CPG food & beverage industry.

Denises’s grit, practical advice and dynamism shine through in this conversation that includes:

• The personal inspiration for Partake Foods

• From corporate life to founder of Partake Foods

• Bootstrapping and what it took in the first few years

• Evolving the Brand Proposition and visual identity to get tastier

• Building a community-driven brand

• Advice for fund raising and scaling a business

• Definitions of success and future ambitions

Denise is professionally jealous of brands that are doing interesting partnerships and collaborations such as Brightland and Mackenzie Childs for the holidays, and Ollipop x StayCoolNYC with a loungewear collection.

Check out https://partakefoods.com/

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