Laird Hamilton is getting in on the IPO frenzy.
The legendary surfer is the co-founder of Laird Superfood, a Sisters, Ore.-based company that just filed to go public. The startup is only looking to raise up to $40 million, but its decision to test the public markets reflects the recent surge of IPOs even amid an economic crisis.
Founded in 2015, Laird Superfood sells “superfood” creamers and other plant-based products such as mushrooms and coconut water mixes. It has raised about $50 million to date, including a $10 million round from Danone Manifesto Ventures in April and previous funding from WeWork.
The company’s IPO filing shows that it brought in $13 million in sales last year, with a net loss of $8.5 million. It estimates its total addressable market at $3 billion.
Hamilton owns 13.2% of the company, while Danone owns 13.4%.
Laird Superfood, led by co-founder and CEO Paul Hodge — a surfing buddy of Hamilton — is riding a trend of growing interest in meat alternatives buoyed by giants including Impossible and Beyond Meat. Data from SPINS released in March show grocery sales of plant-based foods that directly replace animal products growing 29% in the past two years to $5 billion.
Hamilton is also the co-founder of GolfBoard, another Oregon company that sells electric skateboards for the golf course.
The IPO market is red hot, with a flurry of tech companies announcing plans to go public in the past few months. Five enterprise software startups filed paperwork to go public on a single day last week.
