Top 10 Influencer-Founded Food Brands

The Surge of Influencer Entrepreneurship in the Food Industry

Regardless of your niche as a creator, stepping into the food industry is a popular first step toward building an entrepreneurial empire. Experienced creators with followings from micro to macro understand the complexities of influencer marketing, social media management, and developing a remarkable brand voice, all of which are essential skills when building a modern food brand. Influencers have the advantage of independently mastering these skills as well as curating a niche community of loyal supporters. Creating a food brand from the ground up is no easy feat, but these influencer entrepreneurs can confidently comprehend the expectations and preferences of their followers, a factor that has contributed to long-term success in the bustling Creator Economy.

Let’s dive into The Influencer Marketing Factory’s Top 10 Influencer-Founded Food Brands disrupting the industry of consumer packaged goods. For more insights, check out our existing blog posts on the Top 10 Influencer-Founded Beverages Brands and Top 10 Influencer-Founded Beauty Products.

Top 10 Influencer-Founded Food Brands

1. Feastables by Jimmy Donaldson aka MrBeast

Whether or not you’re a subscriber of MrBeast, you may be familiar with his viral brand Feastables. Jimmy Donaldson launched the better-for-you snacking brand back in January 2022 in three delicious flavors: Original Chocolate, Almond Chocolate, and Quinoa Crunch Chocolate. MrBeast co-founded Feastables alongside CEO Jim Murry with the support of Night. Growing up with Chron’s disease, MrBeast was inspired to create a healthy, fun, high-quality snack for people of all ages to enjoy. Feastables were initially available online, at Walmart retailers nationwide, and via GoPuff. To kickstart the debut launch, Feastables held its first massive sweepstakes that totaled over $1 Million in prizes and offers for those lucky enough to snag a chocolate bar before they sold out. Ten grand prize winners were selected to compete in one of MrBeast’s YouTube videos to win MrBeast’s Chocolate Factory.

Earlier this year, Feastables announced its brand and recipe revamp. The brand now has seven mouthwatering flavors including Milk Chocolate, Milk Crunch, Almond, Peanut Butter (formerly Deez Nutz), Peanut Butter Crunch, Dark Chocolate, and Dark Chocolate Sea Salt. MrBeast shared that the new recipe came after almost two years of traveling from country to country and testing hundreds of formulas. The YouTube superstar declared his new Feastables formula as “the best-tasting chocolate ever made by mankind” following countless blind taste tests against top chocolate brands like Dove, Lindt, and Nói Siríus. In traditional gamified Feastables fashion, MrBeast hosted a special 30-day giveaway where he gave $10,000 away to fans daily to celebrate the rebrand and reformulation.

In October 2023, Feastables became the Official Jersey Patch Partner of the Charlotte Hornets. Feastables hosted an exciting Feastables Night for the Hornets’ Anniversary Night with chocolate-themed in-game activations and contests. The first 500 fans to purchase a Feastables bar that night received a wristband which gave them access to take a shot on the Hornet’s court following the game. There were also several Feastables candy parachute drops throughout the evening. Most recently, Feastables announced a special collaboration with Zaxby’s, a staple fast food location throughout MrBeast’s childhood. The collaboration features a $12.99 MrBeast Box with delicious Zaxby’s classics, a Milk Chocolate Feastables Bar, and a bold collectible box. Not only is this collab a delicious homage to MrBeast’s childhood, but it also poses an opportunity for the creator to step back into the fast food industry following quality control concerns with MrBeast Burger in 2023.

MrBeast is on a mission to transform the world of chocolate and content creation. He has set the standard for entrepreneurship, philanthropy, video production, and more. As MrBeast continues to build his business, Feastables remains a staple influencer-founded food brand and a prime example of how to translate an online audience into an engaged consumer base.

2. Joyride Sweets by Ryan Trahan

YouTuber Ryan Trahan has skyrocketed his online success to new heights with his extreme challenge videos suitable for all ages. Trahan is riding this wave of success and unstoppable engagement with his latest work at Joyride Sweets. Founder Tyler Merrick established Joyride Sweets and headquartered the brand in Austin back in 2022. Merrick’s mission for Joyride has always been to provide consumers with better-for-you candy and with Trahan joining as Co-Owner and Chief Creative Officer, the duo has introduced some of the most delicious vegan, low-sugar, low-carb, and non-GMO candy on the market today.

In 2024, Trahan joined the candy brand and took the lead in product development, packaging design, and merchandise creation in preparation for the release of Joyride Sour Strips. The sour strips debuted in February 2024 in four delicious flavors including Green Apple, Strawberry, Pink Lemonade, and Blue Raspberry as a part of a launch pack. Each launch pack included sour strip candies, candy-scented car air fresheners, and an exclusive sticker pack designed by Trahan himself. To promote the first drop, Trahan collaborated with Sticks to conceptualize and produce a long-form YouTube video titled “My Last Video” which garnered more than 4 million views in the first 24 hours of its release.

For Joyride’s second candy drop in April, the brand released four new flavors including Cherry Berry Ropes, Sour Watermelon Wedges, Sour Strawberry Rope Bites, and Classic Strawberry Twists. The highly anticipated drop also included surprise branded merch and elements that reflected fan requests. Trahan shared on the official Joyride Sweets website, “We’re taking your feedback and making them even better before they hit retailers later this year.”

Joyride Sweets’ next launch is set for June 15th aka Joyride Day with a nationwide expansion in select Target retailers. Trahan’s YouTube banner notes that the upcoming release will make Joyride the “#1 candy in Target,” rivaling MrBeast’s Feastables and other influencer-founded snacks. In a recent Instagram post, Trahan shared that Joyride Sweets will be available in 1,200 Target locations for 3 months to test the brand’s success and potential at the major retailer. Six top-selling flavors including Sour Watermelon Wedges will be available for purchase in stores and online. For now, fans can stock up on Launch Pack 2 at the official Joyride Sweets website and anticipate single-flavored packs in the near future.

3. Myna Snacks by Pokimane aka Imane Anys

Gamers and streamers, it’s time to level up your snacking game with Myna Snacks by Pokimane aka Imane Anys. Pokimane’s health journey led her on the path of developing her own healthy snacking brand that aligned with the common gamer lifestyle. Pokimane previously shared that her busy schedule and often sedentary streaming setup resulted in her choosing convenient yet unhealthy snacks and meals. In an interview with Forbes, Pokimane discussed the common struggles of gaming creators and streamers overall. “In the Twitch community especially, it almost feels predatory the way companies go after us with ads for unhealthy and addictive food,” she explained. Pokimane partnered with Darcey Macken, CEO and Co-Founder of Myna Snacks, to launch the brand in November 2023. The intensive two-year product development period was possible with backing from Connect Ventures, a partnership between Creative Artists Agency and New Enterprise Associates.

For the brand’s first launch, Myna Snacks released the gluten-free, nutritious Midnight Mini Cookies available in packs of 28. Consumers had the option to purchase bundles of four, eight, or twelve Midnight Mini Cookie packs online. Pokimane and Macken told Forbes that they were most surprised by the number of consumers who opted for the cookie subscription option since the brand was completely new and they had yet to taste-test the cookies. Macken went on to share her confidence that the mass early adoption of the brand will translate to positive growth over time as they continue to develop new healthy snack alternatives. Along with the brand’s debut, Myna Snacks launched an interactive “Snack Lab” on its official website for Pokimane’s fans to take part in developing new products, and a limited-edition “snack grabber” was available for purchase.

One of the most recent non-food products added to the Myna Snacks site is the Myna Tote Bag, your newest cookie carrier for on-the-go. Myna Snacks also released a limited-edition Stanley Cups and a Valentine’s Day Snack Lovers Bundle earlier this year. The Snack Club subscription now offers exclusive savings, surprise gifts, priority access to limited-edition merch, and samples of new snacks in development. There appears to be a blurred image of a pizza-themed snack tagged with the “Taste Test New Snacks” perk for subscribers, but there has yet to be an official announcement for the new product. On Instagram, Myna Snacks is documenting the brand’s exciting adventures on its latest venture, The Feel Good Snack Good Tour. Myna Snacks will be hitting up different locations throughout the United States to connect with fans and give away free goodies. As Myna Snacks continues to engage its community and encourage healthy snacking, we anticipate even more success with the influencer cookie brand.

4. Keith’s by Keith Habersberger from the Try Guys

If you’re a fan of the Try Guys, you may be familiar with Keith Habersberger’s delicious sauce brand, Keith’s. Habersberger developed the sauce brands alongside online hot sauce retailer Heatonist and Hot Ones host Sean Evans. In a YouTube video on the official Try Guys channel, Habersberger took fans on an in-depth journey of how he developed the brand in over a year. Habersberger shared in an interview with People Magazine that his inspiration to curate a hot sauce brand came from his low tolerance for spice. The YouTube sensation reported that he taste-tested more than 50 hot sauce flavors to narrow down Keith’s Chicken Sauce’s unique flavor profile and develop a whole new “genre” of condiments–chicken sauce.

The iconic Keith’s Chicken Sauce launched on the Heatonist site in late November 2019 and sold for $12. A report from Tubefilter detailed that Habersberger only ordered 10,000 units of his chicken sauce for the first launch. Less than two days after the launch, Habersberger took to Twitter, now known as X, to announce that the first drop completely sold out on December 1st. The launch garnered more than $120,000 in sales, and due to the overwhelming demand from fans, Heatonist announced that a restock of Keith’s Chicken Sauce would be available shortly with bottles guaranteed to ship and deliver in time for Christmas. More than 8,000 fans had signed up to be on the Keith’s waitlist to get their hands on the viral sauce. The second drop of 20,000 bottles hit the site on December 13th and sold out soon after, yet again.

Habersberger later released a Hot version of his original chicken sauce for fans who love extra spice. Following the success of Keith’s Chicken Sauce, Habersberger went on to develop two new sauces, Keith’s Burger Sauce and Keith’s Taco Sauce. Each sauce is currently available on the Heatonist site for $12 each or in a discounted three-bottle bundle alongside the original Keith’s Chicken Sauce for $33. Heatonist hosted a special giveaway in 2023 to celebrate Habersberger’s birthday in which they gifted three lucky fans a Keith’s Sauce Trio. As Habersberger continues to explore his creative video talents and business ventures, Keith’s remains a classic and must-try sauce for YouTube lovers.

5. Be Happy Snacks by the D’Amelio Family

The D’Amelio Family has built an empire of business and entertainment success since TikTok star Charli D’Amelio first blew up back in 2019. Be Happy Snacks marks the family’s first-ever food venture as D’Amelio Foods in partnership with full-service distribution platform Trusted Influence and funding support from Fifth Growth Fund. Marc D’Amelio, Co-Founder and CEO of D’Amelio Brands, shared in a press release that Dixie D’Amelio’s viral song inspired the snack brand. The brand aims to satisfy consumer’s snack cravings with fun and unexpected flavors, bringing people together. Trusted Influence CEO Trevor Drinkwater also commented on the collaboration, “It is amazing to experience first-hand the speed in which the Creator Economy is taking form and impacting consumption.”

Be Happy Snacks exclusively hit the shelves in Walmart retailers across the US in October 2023 to connect with the most snack lovers possible. The influencer-founded popcorn debuted with four delicious flavors including Cotton Candy, Maple Bacon, Garlic Parmesan, and Nice Spice, each priced at $3.98. In an interview with People Magazine, Dixie shared how the cheerful packaging of Be Happy Snacks was intentional when developing the brand. “Charli and I, sometimes we do buy snacks by the cover,” she shared. “I would buy something because it looks cute.” Dixie also noted how the delicious flavors of Be Happy plus the aesthetic design made the entire tasting experience perfect for fans.

Beyond being the family’s first food venture, Be Happy Snacks is the first business all four family members contributed to from product development to marketing and advertising. Marc shared with People that he always envisioned his daughters positively impacting their family business. Moreover, Marc explained that Be Happy Snacks as a business venture allows the family to reduce its dependency on TikTok. Be Happy Snacks recently released two new popcorn flavors, Himalayan Pink Salt and White Cheddar. On June 3, 2024, Be Happy Snacks will expand its product line for sale in new grocery stores and retailers nationwide including Vons, Albertsons, and Safeway. For more updates on what’s next at Be Happy Snacks, check out the brand’s official website and social platforms!

6. Cravings by Chrissy Teigen

Photo Credit: Cravings

Chrissy Teigen, an American model and television personality, made her digital debut as a content creator with her iconic food blog, So Delushious. Teigen began her food blogging journey back in 2011, writing about her must-try cooking hacks, beloved recipes shared with her husband John Legend, and even pieces about her personal life as a celebrity. Although So Delushious and its nostalgic Blackberry photos slowed down in 2013, Teigen continued to pursue her foodie and home chef journey as a host on various cooking shows, writing several cookbooks, and with her culminating business venture, Cravings. The official Cravings website details how the company posed the perfect opportunity for Teigen to create and problem-solve with food and within the home. Founded in 2019 and first launched at Target retailers, Cravings is home to countless delicious recipes, baking mixes, cookware, and more.

Teigen continued to work non-stop following the launch of Cravings to develop new products that bring functionality and fun to the kitchen. The Cravings baking collection debuted on the official Cravings site back in 2022 and sold out twice before releasing in-store at Bristol Farms retailers nationwide. The collection of deliciously sweet baking mixes included the Buttermilk Mochi Pancake & Waffle Mix, The Perfect Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix, and Chrissy’s Ultimate Banana Bread Mix. Moreover, Cravings welcomed its first CEO, Danyel O’Connor, earlier that same year for her expertise in CPG products and retail strategy. The highly acclaimed baking collection hit Kroger stores in September 2023 with plans to expand to more national retailers later that year.

The Chrissy “Nudes” Collection launched in March 2024. Teigen teased the new cookware collection with a blurred post on Instagram captioned, “Nudes are coming.” As with past launches, Teigen was determined to share new products with fans that would take the hassle out of what should be an expressive, nourishing experience. Teigen explained in a video how the product development process with the Chrissy “Nudes” Collection took more than a year. The new Cravings collection includes neutral kitchen essentials such as the Perfect Pan, Better Baker Set, and Chrissy’s Cut & Serve Board. Each collection piece is available on the Cravings website individually or in bundles with other must-have products.

The latest additions to the Cravings baking mix collection are the Heavenly Coconut Key Lime Cake Mix and John’s Glorious Golden Cookie Mix, a delectable twist on traditional peanut butter cookies. With so many delicious baking mixes and multi-use cookware, it’s hard to decide which Cravings product to try first! Follow Chrissy Teigen and keep up with the Cravings food blog for all the latest updates on Cravings and all things foodie.

7. Mid-Day Squares by Jake Karls, Lezlie Karls, & Nick Saltarelliù

Photo Credit: Mid-Day Squares / Dreww Studio

Trio Jake Karls, Lezlie Karls, and Nick Saltarelli banded together in April 2018 with one goal in mind: to disrupt the $8B health bars market with delicious, clean, protein-packed snacks to curb that afternoon craving on the go. Last year, content creator and Co-Founder Jake Karls joined IMF CEO Alessandro Bogliari on our top podcast, The Influence Factor, to discuss how he transformed his sister and brother-in-law’s tasteful chocolate hobby into a healthy snack empire through the power of social media. Jake Karls explained how to build a “fandom” and community for their brand, they created a reality-like series on social media to showcase their authentic experience from product development to navigating struggles with retailers. Due to rejections from major grocers, Mid-Day Squares pivoted to a direct-to-consumer model and Saltarelli quit his tech job to support the bustling snack start-up. “During a span of 4 months, we perfected the recipe, completed a self-taught crash course in manufacturing, designed the packaging, established an e-commerce site, and achieved our organic certifications,” shared Lezlie Karls, Co-Founder and CEO, in a previous report.

Several factors cater to Mid-Day Squares’s disruptive nature as a healthy snack alternative. Given the brand’s lack of in-person retailers, Mid-Day Squares strategically hosted online taste testing in which the brand reached out to fans of the brand and amazing individuals on that daily grind. Instagram became a core platform for the brand’s outreach strategy and building the Mid-Day Squares following. Most recently, Mid-Day Squares partnered up with Advantage Solutions’ Club Demonstration Services in March to take snack sampling to the next level. Mid-Day Squares successfully sold over 90,000 chocolate squares in only 13 days through engaging sampling at Costco. Moreover, Mid-Day Squares differentiates itself from other healthy snack alternative brands by owning its manufacturing.

According to Forbes, by March 2023, Mid-Day Squares celebrated more than C$17M in revenue and a 45% year-over-year growth rate. This January, Axios reported that Jake Karls announced the brand plans to raise another round of funding by the end of this year or early 2025. Mid-Day Squares is now available online and in stores at nationwide retailers like Target, Walmart, and Sprouts. You can also purchase Mid-Day Squares from the brand’s official website and Amazon. These delectable, guilt-free chocolates come in amazing flavors like Cookie Dough, Peanut Butta, Crunchy Peanut, and Brownie Batter. Looking to try Mid-Day Squares yourself? Order a Mid-Day Squares Starter Pack online today to give these sweet, fibrous, vegan chocolate treats.

8. Oath Oats by Yumna Jawad aka Feel Good Foodie

Photo Credit: Oath Oats

Yumna Jawad aka the Feel Good Foodie has always been a connoisseur of wholesome and organic cooking. On her Feel Good Foodie site, Jawad shared how her roots in recipe development came from long phone calls with her mother in the early 2000s learning how to cook as a newlywed. Oath Oats marks Jawad’s first venture into the CPG industry after years of curating healthy oat-based recipes. According to the official Oath Oats site, the goal of the oat brand is to make nutritious cooking easier with minimal to no prep time while prioritizing sustainability and ethics. All Oath Oats packaging and ingredients are sustainably sourced and made for consumers to enjoy. Oath Oats’s commitment to social good continues with the brand’s support of No Kid Hungry, a charity organization dedicated to alleviating child hunger in the United States.

Oath Oats kickstarted in September 2023 and celebrated $10,000 in opening week orders, a huge win for the brand considering it had yet to allocate any marketing dollars. Oath Oats took a creator-first approach to promoting the brand not only with Jawad’s millions of followers but also with the co-ownership and investment from other top food creators like Lisa Bryan, Karissa Barker, Nicole Winter, and Taylor Dadds. In an interview with YouTube, Jawad shared that building Oath Oats empowered her to become a better content creator due to her enhanced understanding of the process behind product development and promotion. “There’s so much pressure to meet deadlines, meet sales figures, and meet shareholder expectations without much room for error,” she explained. “So, I’ve sharpened my business acumen in the process, become more efficient in day-to-day tasks, and allowed myself to be more creative in problem-solving.”

Oath Oats has closely updated its community of investors since its original launch. In October 2023, Oath Oats announced its milestone of $100K in funding from more than 100 investors, updates on an Amazon storefront, and plans to extend the brand to the Canadian market. A key retail strategy in Oath Oats’s early days was introducing the brand to smaller retailers across the United States, but the brand soon experienced an overflow of wholesale requests. To accommodate wholesale interest in the brand, Oath Oats began to sell its best-selling Overnight Oats and signature granola products on faire.com that year.

This February, Oath Oats celebrated its official launch on Amazon after months of planning. Oath Oats is currently selling select flavors of its delicious and nutritious Overnight Oats on Amazon including Almond Butter and Jelly, Maple Roasted Almond, Crunchy Dark Chocolate, and Mountain Wild Berry. Each bag of gluten-free, naturally sweetened, vegan oats retails for $14.99 with the option to Subscribe and Save with Amazon Prime. For discounted oats and bundles, check out the official Oath Oats site.

9. MishMash by Rhett McLaughlin & Link Neal of Good Mythical Morning

Photo Credit: Mythical

Good Mythical Morning! There’s no better way to kick off your day than with a hearty bowl of MishMash, a ’90s-inspired cereal brand from the creative minds of YouTube legends Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal. The YouTube duo partnered with Warren James, a renowned creator-led brand product manufacturer, to develop and release their first-ever food product. Emily Buckley, General Manager of Food and Beverage at Warren James, told Tubefilter, “The team at Warren James engaged with numerous potential suppliers and sought expertise from manufacturing specialists to bring Mythical’s innovative cereal concepts to fruition. The outcome is a cereal that meets the dynamic and entertaining standards set by Rhett & Link.” McLaughlin and Neal also shared in an interview with Tubefilter that, “The Mythical team took what we do best–curiosity-driven creativity and deliciously inventive food making–and ‘mishmashed’ them together.” After engulfing “tons” of cereal, the Mythical pair finally settled on a delicious recipe.

MishMash offers Good Mythical Morning fans a “mouthful of nostalgia” with a gamified experience and hilarious mythical mascot. The Randler, MishMash’s official “millennial” mascot, is a mythical cartoon mouse-bird-reindeer hybrid that symbolizes “old-fashioned cereal fun,” according to the MishMash site. MishMash debuted in November 2023 in two unique flavors, Sweet Mac N’ Mello and Peanut Butter N’ Honey Sandwich. Cereal boxes released on the brand’s digital storefront in two-packs for $19.99 or four-packs for $39.99. McLaughlin and Neal announced the brand with a ’90s-style grainy commercial on X and released several YouTube videos discussing the brand. In true Mythical fashion, the inter-trainers asked the iconic question “Will it cereal?” and taste-tested their brand alongside other snacks and cereal-able products.

In addition to MishMash, McLaughlin and Neal released their first cookbook in March 2024, another food-forward venture that took countless months of prep. The Good Mythical Morning hosts curated the cookbook alongside Josh Scherer aka Mythical Chef and the Mythical Kitchen team. The MishMash site details how the brand hopes to grow to rival its big store competitors to launch in grocery stores and offer reduced pricing in the future. MishMash has yet to announce an official restock of its viral cereal, but fans can sign up for the brand’s email list for updates on future drops and potential new releases.

10. 1UP Candy by Brian Wadis aka FaZe Rug

Photo Credit: 1Up Candy

The FaZe Clan is always up for an exciting challenge. Brian Wadis aka FaZe Rug, co-owner of FaZe Clan, founded 1UP Candy in May 2022 to foster memories, connectivity, and adventure for FaZe fans. Matt Weiss joined 1UP Candy as the CEO in 2022 to support product development. Wadis created 1UP Candy alongside the leading talent venture studio VO/D to engage Gen-Z fans with unique candy experiences. “When I was approached to fully engage in developing a new candy that was designed to be fun and social, I jumped all over the opportunity,” Wadis stated. “Anyone who knows me knows I love candy, and I love challenging my family, friends, and fans to experience it with me.”

For the brand’s debut, 1UP Candy was for an exclusive Cash App Card Holders pre-sale for the first 72 hours of the drop. The exclusive pre-sale also included a limited-time 20% Cash App Card Holders discount. 1UP Candy’s first launch consisted of the 1UP Sour Gummy Challenge with which fans are challenged to try three extremely sour gummies without breaking a straight face. Fans were also encouraged to share their experiences with the Sour Gummy Challenge on TikTok and Instagram with the hashtag #1UPsourchallenge and their Cash App $Cashtag for the opportunity to win up to $500.

Now, a year after 1UP Candy’s debut, a new line of freeze-dried candy is available in-store at Walmart retailers nationwide. The Freeze Dried Favorites collection consists of five must-try flavors including Freeze Dried Lemon Tops, Freeze Dried Gummy Bites, Freeze Dried Gummy Bites Watermelon, Freeze Dried Gummy Bites Sour Worms, and Freeze Dried Gummy Bites Peach Rings. Each flavor retails for $4.96, an affordable price point for young fans, and is exclusively available at Walmart’s Department 82 aka the “Trending Now” section or “Front End” of most Walmart locations. Interested in trying the crispy crunchy 1UP Freeze Dried Favorites? Run to your nearest Walmart or secure your order online before it’s too late!