Jesse & Ben’s Scores $10m For Clean French Fries As Seed-oil-free Movement Grows

The raise comes as sales of seed-oil-free products have surged, with major retailers like Walmart, Kroger and Sprouts getting on board

Giving french fries a healthy makeover and securing a $10 million investment is the kind of news that may have raised eyebrows a few years ago. But in the booming better-for-you category, it’s just another day.

Jesse & Ben’s, the brand behind seed-oil-free fries made with avocado oil or beef tallow, closed an oversubscribed Series A led by Greycroft that will support retail expansion, supply chain investment and leadership hires.

Rich Products Ventures joined as a new investor. Existing backers Willow Growth Partners, Sling Ventures, Midnight Venture Partners and Grt Sht Ventures also participated.

The round also drew a roster of consumer-brand operators and creator-investors, including Poppi founders Allison and Stephen Ellsworth, Hu Chocolate’s Jordan Brown, The Skinny Confidential’s Lauryn and Michael Bosstick and Sweetgreen co-founder Nic Jammet. Notably, the fast-casual eatery ditched seed oils last year in favor of olive oil.

Method and Olly co-founder Eric Ryan will join the board. 

The raise comes as sales of seed-oil-free certified products have surged per SPINS, and major retailers like Walmart, Kroger and Sprouts now let buyers filter for certified brands through RangeMe, a product discovery platform.

The case against seed oils has been building in wellness circles for years, but the movement has picked up momentum under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has publicly tied seed oils to the obesity crisis. But not everyone is on board. Nutrition researchers, including those at Harvard, have pushed back, noting that seed oils are largely unsaturated fats linked to lower heart disease risk when they replace saturated fats.

Behind the brand are restaurant operators Jesse Konig and Ben Johnson. Jesse & Ben’s launched in frozen aisles in 2024, grew more than 1,100% last year and expects another 300% to 400% in 2026, per the company.

The ingredient list is short: russet potatoes, avocado or beef tallow oil, sea salt, garlic powder and rosemary, depending on the flavor. Crinkle Cut Beef Tallow Fries will hit select retailers this summer, while Sweet Potato Tallow Fries will join multiple national retailers. Both join Classic Sea Salt and Rosemary Garlic on shelves.

Legacy fry brands, by comparison, typically offer products with ingredients such as soybean and cottonseed oils, modified food starch, dextrin, annatto color, sodium acid pyrophosphate and xanthan gum.

Beyond the frozen aisles, Audrey Burger joins as founding president from Primal Kitchen, with additional hires from better-for-you peers like Siete.

“When we started Jesse & Ben’s, the goal was simple: turn junk food into joy food,” Konig said. “Two years in, we’re watching real people pick our bag over the brands they grew up with, and we’re outselling legacy brands on shelves we never imagined we’d be on. This round gives us the firepower to keep launching products people actually want, to scale our supply chain, and to bring in the best operators in CPG. We couldn’t have asked for a better group of partners to do it with.”

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