88 Acres
Founded 2015 · 39 employees on LinkedIn · 3 known investors
88 Acres makes seed-based food products such as seed butters and granola/protein bars, using roasted seeds and simple ingredients. Its products are nut-free and marketed to consumers seeking allergen-friendly, better-for-you snacks.
Also known as 88 Acres Foods
Founders & leadership
88 Acres was founded in 2015 by Rob Dalton.
Investors · 3
Company profile
researched Aug 202688 Acres (also referred to as 88 Acres Foods) is a Boston, Massachusetts-based food company that makes bars and butters from whole seeds and simple ingredients, produced in its own allergen-friendly bakery. Its stated aim is to make food that people with and without food allergies can eat, and its products are marketed as free from the top nine food allergens.
The product line spans four categories: soft-baked Seed + Oat granola bars (flavors including Dark Chocolate Sea Salt, Cookies and Cream, Triple Berry Crumble, Cinnamon Maple, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Blueberry Lemon), protein bars containing 12g of plant-based protein from pumpkin seeds (flavors including Banana Bread and Fudge Brownie), seed butters in 14 oz jars (Dark Chocolate Sunflower, Vanilla Cinnamon Sunflower, Sunflower, Roasted Pumpkin and Unsweetened Pumpkin) and Seed'nola granola clusters made with roasted seeds and gluten-free oats. Products use Purity Protocol gluten-free oats, and the company states it avoids chemicals, protein isolates, and artificial sweeteners and flavors.
Founding story
Co-founder and CEO Nicole Ledoux grew up on an 88-acre farm in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, which gave the company its name; she ran a farm stand and sold Christmas trees as a child, studied economics and legal studies at UMass Amherst, graduated in 2001, and spent roughly a decade in finance in trading and portfolio management roles. She met her husband and co-founder Rob on Match.com; on their fourth date he had a severe allergic reaction from a meal cross-contaminated with peanuts or tree nuts, which prompted her to begin making seed-based bars he could safely eat. The couple, then training for a triathlon, shared the homemade bars with their Boston workout community, and demand from that group led them to build a business. Rob had previously worked at clean tech startups. Ledoux co-founded 88 Acres in 2015 after changing careers.
Business model
Consumer packaged goods: 88 Acres manufactures its own branded seed-based snacks in a company-operated bakery and sells them direct to consumers online, including via subscription, and through retail grocery distribution.
Product sales of bars, seed butters and granola, with online pricing such as $21.49 for a nine-count box of Seed + Oat bars, $26.49 for a nine-count box of protein bars, $10.99-$14.99 for 14 oz seed butter jars and $7.99 for a 10 oz bag of Seed'nola, plus multi-pack bundles and a managed subscription option.
Traction
Products are sold direct-to-consumer and through retail stores located via an in-store finder, and are also offered through the Misfits Market marketplace.
Latest developments
The company operates a larger bakery in Canton, Massachusetts built in 2023 and sells a four-category assortment spanning Seed + Oat bars, protein bars, seed butters and Seed'nola granola.
▸Full profile — market position, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
The company positions itself in the crowded snack bar category by targeting what it describes as white space for multi-allergen-free bars and by building its brand platform around seeds rather than around excluded ingredients.
Products are free from the top nine food allergens and are made in the company's own allergen-friendly bakery; formulations use whole roasted seeds, Purity Protocol gluten-free oats, and pumpkin-seed-derived plant protein instead of isolates, and the company states it does not use artificial sweeteners or flavors.
Go-to-market
Direct-to-consumer e-commerce with subscriptions and promotional discounting, retail distribution supported by an in-store product locator, a K-12 and university program, dietitian and social media partnership programs, and third-party online marketplaces such as Misfits Market.
Consumers seeking allergen-friendly and better-for-you snacks, including people with peanut, tree nut and other food allergies, as well as general snack buyers; the company also runs programs aimed at K-12 schools and universities and works with dietitians.
Geography
Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, with a bakery built in Canton, Massachusetts as of 2023.
History
The founders began by making bars in their basement apartment, then built a small-scale bakery in urban Boston, choosing a location in an area of need to drive job growth and working with a neighborhood economic development group and a local food startup accelerator. Seed butters were added after the founders determined existing sunflower butters on the market were unsatisfactory for someone avoiding nuts, with early batches packed in glass mason jars. The line later expanded to include granola and protein bars. In 2023 the company moved to a larger bakery it built in Canton, Massachusetts.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 2
launches, deals, and filingsAfter operating a small-scale bakery in urban Boston, 88 Acres moved in 2023 to a larger bakery it built in Canton, Massachusetts.
Nicole Ledoux co-founded 88 Acres in 2015 after a career change from finance.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- 88 Acres88acres.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does 88 Acres do?
- Boston-based food company making seed-based bars, seed butters and granola in its own allergen-friendly bakery.
- Who founded 88 Acres?
- 88 Acres was founded by Rob Dalton in 2015.
- Who are 88 Acres's investors?
- 88 Acres's investors include CEI Ventures, Community Development Venture Capital Alliance, Maroon Venture Partners Fund.