KELLOGG INVESTS MILLIONS IN SUPERFOOD COMPANY
Kellogg’s (K) investment fund has invested in a new superfood startup company named “Kuli Kuli”, making it the first investment made by the company’s Venture Capital section since it was launched in 2016.
On Wednesday, January 11 the cereal-giant said that their VC arm, known as eighteen94 capital, led a $4.25 million Series A funding of Kuli Kuli along with additional institutional investors InvestEco and S2G Ventures. Kuli Kuli is a new startup company that sells herbal teas and powders that can be used in smoothies and “superfood” bars that are all moringa-based products.
According to the FDA, moringa is a plant protein that is produced by trees that are grown in semiarid and tropical regions of the world. The leaves, pods and oils of those plants are a source of iron, calcium and Vitamin A.
Simon Burton, managing director of eighteen94 capital said, “By investing in Kuli Kuli and helping them grow, we’re backing a new superfood category, one in which we see the potential for ongoing high-growth,”. Burton is now a member of the Kuli Kuli board of directors with the investment.
Kellogg’s VC arm initially debuted last year, vowing to “invest about $100 million into startups that are pioneering new ingredients, foods and packaging”.
Based in Oakland, Calif., Kuli Kuli was co-founded by Lisa Curtis, a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger who first tasted moringa when she was working abroad. She says she founded Kuli Kuli to help West Africans use more moringa locally, as well as sell some of their harvest to the U.S. via products like Moringa Green Energy shots and Energizing Moringa Herbal Tea.
The company Kuli Kuli was initially launched through a crowdfunding campaign that raised $53,000, with a second campaign raising $100,000. Their products are already stocked in over 2,000 stores, including Whole Foods, Safeway and Sprouts Farmers Market.
