Kristen Bell’s snack company with a mission to end childhood hunger, This Save Lives, is being acquired by GOOD Worldwide for just under $5 million.
“It’s a beautiful thing when two companies share the same DNA,” Bell said in a Thursday announcement. “It’s even more impactful when they can make a real difference in some of the world’s most devastating issues. I could not be more excited for the future of This Saves Lives as a GOOD Worldwide company.”
The brand, which Bell co-founded in 2013 with fellow actors Ryan Devlin, Todd Grinnell and Ravi Patel, is working to combat hunger across the globe. Since its inception, the company has donated more than 30 million packets of nutrient-dense Plumpy’Nut to children in need. It has also expanded beyond snack bars with product lines including kids’ snacks, granola and oatmeal that are now available at major retailers including Whole Foods, Kroger, Nordstrom and Caribou Coffee.
GOOD, which owns media brand Upworthy, was founded in 2006 and aims to “empower people and organizations to be a force for good.”
CEO Max Schorr says This Saves Lives is a perfect fit for the company. “This Saves Lives has a suite of wonderful products and is actively helping solve world hunger,” he tells THR. “In an independent poll of our Upworthy audience we found that hunger is the number one social issue of concern. Now, we’re on a mission to end child hunger, together.”
Schorr says his company’s global audience of 150 million people will “supercharge” This Saves Lives, while Bell’s brand “can help us further engage our passionate followers in meaningful, social impact every day.”
Bell, who was featured on THR‘s inaugural list of top Hollywood entrepreneurs, also counts Hello Bello and CBD-infused bodycare line Happy Dance among her business endeavors. In an interview for that feature, Bell said she believes a for-profit-for-good model is the future of business: “I have a pretty strong moral compass and wanted to be at the table steering the companies to make the best choices possible for the consumers, the product, the production line and the Earth.”