**Fries, No Seed Oils, $10 Million Later**

Jesse & Ben’s just closed an oversubscribed $10 million Series A led by Greycroft, with Rich Products Ventures and a roster that reads like a better-for-you group chat. Willow Growth Partners, Sling Ventures, Midnight Venture Partners and Grt Sht Ventures joined in. So did operators and creator-investors from Poppi, Hu Chocolate and Sweetgreen.

Not bad for a frozen french fry brand that launched in 2024.

The pitch is simple. Seed-oil-free fries cooked in avocado oil or beef tallow. The traction is louder. The company says it grew more than 1,100% last year and expects another 300% to 400% growth in 2026. Distribution is expanding after launching nationwide at Whole Foods and Target.

Retail is clearly paying attention. Walmart, Kroger and Sprouts now let buyers filter for certified seed-oil-free products through RangeMe, reflecting surging sales in the segment per SPINS.

Why it matters: frozen foods are not exactly known for ideological shopping. Yet here we are, with fries becoming a flag for ingredient scrutiny. When retailers build filters for a claim, buyers are signaling demand with their budgets.

Quick take: seed-oil-free is moving from niche talking point to shelf-level sorting mechanism. Once retailers hard-code a filter, brands either qualify or get filtered out. The freezer aisle just got a lot more political, and a lot more competitive.