Hu Chocolate Executives Reflect On Their Journey To MondelÄ“z Acquisition: “Entrepreneurship Is An Iterative Pathway“

Hu Chocolate Executives Reflect On Their Journey To MondelÄ“z Acquisition: “Entrepreneurship Is An Iterative Pathway“

Paleo chocolate maker Hu Master Holdings' recent acquisition by MondelÄ“z has been widely perceived as a natural move by a snacking market leader to polish its innovation engine, while maintaining vigilance on emerging consumer trends. 

The Oreo cookies manufacturer, which previously made a minority investment in Hu before taking its full ownership, has not only created SnackFutures to unlock growth opportunities in CPG, but also recently unveiled "CoLab“ under its venture arm to help grow well-being snack brands through a 12-week program.

Similar to brands that were recently gobbled up by Mondelēz, including Tate's Bake Shop and Perfect Snacks, Hu is now expected to leverage the snacking powerhouse's distribution network and supply chain to grow out of the natural and specialty channel into mass retailers, such as Target



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Hu's cofounders and executives recently shared their wisdoms about entrepreneurship, and how their journey to acquisition might be rockier and more unexpected than most people would imagine.

"We were crazy to get into chocolate because it was saturated with so many brands,“ Jordan Brown, who cofounded Hu alongside his sister Jessica (Brown) Karp, and Jason Karp, recently told me via Zoom.

As a former real estate developer with little experience