Ancient Crunch Reaches Estimated $50 Million Revenue Selling $13 Masa Chips but Remains Unprofitable

Ancient Crunch estimates $50 million in annual revenue from its seed-oil-free tortilla chips four years after its first sales. The New Jersey company sells 500,000 bags each month at $13 online and higher in stores. Steven Rofrano and Seth Goldstein started the business in 2022 after Rofrano objected to the tortilla chips Goldstein was eating during a New Year’s trip to Miami Beach.

They spent $8,000 on equipment and produced their first batch in a 400-square-foot kitchen that July. The chips sold out the same day after an online pre-sale. Erewhon began carrying the product that fall and it became the chain’s top-selling chip within months.

The founders received rejections from about 200 manufacturers before spending another $250,000 to open their own small facility in New Jersey. By 2024 revenue had reached an estimated $20 million. Masa chips are now sold in roughly 2,500 stores.

The company will place the product in Target’s California stores next month and roll it out to Whole Foods stores nationwide in August. It also launched Vandy Crisps potato chips in 2024 and announced a Golden Age popcorn line in February. Rofrano, 31, serves as CEO and Goldstein, 30, as president.

The pair retains majority ownership and full voting control after raising at least $4.5 million from investors including The Family Fund, Raptor Group and Tonic Ventures. Half of sales occur online with 37 percent coming from monthly subscriptions. The company spends more than $100,000 a month on grass-fed beef tallow and says it remains unprofitable.

Rofrano said the chips use the original frying method rather than an alternative to conventional snacks.