Taste Tomorrow Ventures Fuels the Future of Better-For-You Snacks With Harken Sweets

Early-stage VC firm backs the next generation of better-for-you indulgent snacks

Los Angeles-based Taste Tomorrow Ventures (TTV), a year-old venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments in the beverage and snack industries, has announced an investment in Harken Sweets, joining investors Selva and GRTSHT in the seed round. This marks TTV’s eighth investment and second in the rapidly growing Better-for-You indulgent snacks category.

Launched three years ago by Katie Lefkowitz, Harken Sweets is reimagining chocolate with products that are genuinely better for you without asking consumers to compromise on taste. Sweetened with whole-food dates instead of refined sugar or synthetic alternatives, Harken delivers significantly less sugar and up to 14g of gut-happy fiber per serving in a clean-label format that is resonating with mainstream consumers. Today, the brand is available at leading retailers, including Sprouts Farmers Market, Whole Foods Market, Kroger, Costco, Walmart, Albertsons, Wegmans and many more, as well as directly at HarkenSweets.com.

“We started Harken because I personally believed consumers deserved candy that felt as good as it tasted,” said Lefkowitz. “From day one, our goal has been to create products rooted in real ingredients and genuine indulgence, not compromise. The team at TTV immediately understood both the scale of that opportunity and the emotional connection consumers have with this category. We feel incredibly lucky to have partners who deeply understand the space and share our long-term vision for building the next great modern candy brand.”

“Harken is a better-for-you indulgence candy bar that genuinely meets the consumer where they are today – health-conscious, ingredient-aware and unwilling to give up on taste. We’re excited to support Harken’s next chapter of growth,” noted Danny Stepper, co-founder/GP of Taste Tomorrow Ventures.

Founded by LA Libations founders Danny Stepper, Dino Sarti and partner Scott Guthrie, Taste Tomorrow Ventures brings over eight decades of collective experience building, scaling and investing in high-growth consumer brands. In addition to capital, TTV provides hands-on operational support and deep industry connectivity across retail, supply chain and strategic partnerships. TTV Fund I is a $30-million debut fund backed by strategic Fortune 500 corporations, institutional investment firms, family offices and high-net-worth investors.

Information for this article was sourced from Taste Tomorrow Ventures.