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Partake is proud to announce that we are featured as #45 on the Inc. 5000 list for 2022! We are honored to stand next to so many inspiring companies that we look up to and admire. Just six short years ago, Partake was an idea our Founder & CEO, Denise, dreamed about as she stood in her kitchen. A new “allergy mom” looking for solutions for her daughter, Vivienne, who had just been diagnosed with several food allergies. So much hard work and determination has brought us here, and we can’t wait to see how we will continue to grow as a company and give back to the community along the way. Here are a few words from Denise as she reflects on this surreal moment.

"I am so proud of all we've been able to build over the past 6 years. Growing Partake has been a personal journey but one I do not go alone. I'm grateful for every day our team gets to bring a bit of simple joy to the world and appreciate the honor and good company of my fellow list makers. Here's to many more years of lifting as we climb." - Denise Woodard, Founder & CEO

Check out the full Inc. 5000 list [here](https://www.inc.com/inc5000 "Inc 5000 Magazine List"), and the full feature article [here](https://www.inc.com/magazine/202209/kayla-solino/partake-foods-baked-good-inclusivity-industry-denise-woodard-inc-5000-2022.html "Partake Foods inc. 5000"). Keep reading to learn more about Partake from the September 2022 issue of Inc. Magazine.

“In 2016, Woodard wrote her corporate exit plan and founded [Partake Foods](https://www.inc.com/profile/partake-foods "Partake Foods Inc. 5000"), a New York City-based maker of cookies, brownies, and baking mixes that are free from the nine ingredients responsible for more than 90 percent of food allergies. Woodard settled on baked goods because she wanted Vivienne to be able to join her friends when they enjoyed sweet treats at birthday parties and sleepovers. She also wanted to make life easier for allergy-affected people than it had been for her. "I'd try to bake things and I had to get all these ingredients I'd never heard of to substitute for eggs and wheat," she says. "It was so expensive, and a chore for a working parent."

To bootstrap the business, Woodard maxed out her credit cards, cashed in her 401(k), and sold her engagement ring. Eighty-six investors turned her down before she heard her first yes--from Jay-Z's Marcy Venture Partners, which invested $1 million in 2019. The following year, Partake saw its revenue increase 10-fold, and it expanded its distribution to around 5,000 stores nation­wide. Today, it employs 19 people.

Although Partake was inspired by Vivienne, Woodard now views her brand as a tool to create radical inclusivity in the food ­industry. Her team is 90 percent women and 60 percent people of color, and she draws on a diverse roster of retailers and suppliers. Partake also founded the Black Futures in Food & Beverage fellowship for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, which Woodard thinks will broaden Partake's appeal beyond people looking for allergen-free treats. "There are customers who just want to support conscious companies," she says, "and understand that their dollar is ­having a positive social impact." _--Kayla Solino, Inc. 5000_

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