Participated · Series A · Sep 2021

Plantible Foods produces functional ingredients derived from Lemna, also known as water lentils, and its flagship product Rubi Protein is a complete plant protein containing all nine essential amino acids and vitamin B12. The company operates a commercial production facility in Eldorado, Texas (Ranchito facility) and plans to expand that site by adding up to 50 commercial greenhouses. The planned expansion is expected to raise annual production capacity to more than 1,000 metric tons. Plantible says the increase in capacity will help meet rising customer demand and support additional jobs, contractors and suppliers in Schleicher County. Since establishing its commercial facility, the company has invested in local operations, engineering and research roles. The company’s recent financing includes a $25 million USDA OneRD Business & Industry Guaranteed Loan closed with X-Caliber Rural Capital.

Led · Series B · Mar 2019

Kuli Kuli is an Oakland, CA-based mission-driven company building a business around the superfood moringa. Led by founder & CEO Lisa Curtis, the company sells Moringa Energy Bars, Pure Organic Moringa Powder, Organic Moringa Green Smoothie Mixes, and Moringa Green Energy shots. Over the past five years it has built a sustainable supply chain of small moringa farmers and is selling products in 7,000 stores. The company has begun selling moringa as an ingredient to other food companies in addition to its consumer products. It intends to use the Series B proceeds to launch a moringa ingredient business while continuing to scale its moringa powder, bars, and shots business. Griffith Foods plans to include moringa in its range of ingredient offerings for foodservice customers, processors, retailers and distributors across 30 countries. Kuli Kuli commercializes moringa into consumer products — including bars, powders, tea and energy shots — using proprietary processing technology. The company was founded in 2011 and sources moringa from women farmers in West Africa, South America and the Caribbean, reporting support for 800 women farmers and the planting of 200,000 moringa trees. Kuli Kuli sells through retail (in 3,000 stores, including natural food stores and Whole Foods) and direct-to-consumer channels, and has used crowdfunding and alternative finance (Indiegogo, AgFunder, a Kiva loan) in earlier stages. Management plans new product launches in 2017, initially selling online before rolling out to brick-and-mortar retailers. The business positions moringa as a high-protein, nutrient-dense ingredient and emphasizes both nutrition and farmer-support impact. The recent capital raise is intended primarily to expand distribution into additional retail channels. Kuli Kuli develops and markets moringa-based food products, promoting the nutrient-dense plant as a global nutrition tool. The company is led by founder Lisa Curtis, a returned Peace Corps volunteer from Niger. Kuli Kuli is expanding moringa cultivation in Haiti and other locations and positioning products toward health-conscious consumers (the article cites a "yoga mom" market). Financially, Kuli Kuli previously raised a $500,000 seed round on AgFunder in 2014 and has taken additional funding via Indiegogo crowdfunding. Most recently it was peer-selected through Village Capital’s three-month agriculture accelerator to receive an investment. The accelerator included multi-day workshops in Louisville and New Orleans and concluded with a Venture Forum on January 27. Kuli Kuli processes and distributes moringa-based products, including snack bars, supplement powders and tea, sourced from a women’s cooperative in Ghana. The company expanded U.S. retail distribution to about 500 stores from roughly 30–40 stores in just over a year and reports stronger-than-typical online sales. CEO Lisa Curtis, who discovered moringa while in the Peace Corps, frames the business as a way to bring economic opportunity to parts of the developing world. Kuli Kuli is expanding operations into Haiti through a grant from the Clinton Foundation and a partnership with the Smallholder Farmers Alliance, and plans new product launches there. Financially, the company previously raised $50,000 via IndieGoGo and $500,000 on AgFunder, and is currently marketing a $500,000 seed raise with $100,000 already committed. Most existing backers have been angel investors and high-net-worth individuals, and the company expects venture capital interest ahead of a planned Series A in spring 2016. Kuli Kuli commercializes moringa as a powder supplement and as health-food bars, marketing the plant as a nutrient-dense alternative to kale. The company is already in roughly 150 stores across the U.S. and sources its moringa through a women’s cooperative in Northern Ghana. Founder Lisa Curtis, a former Peace Corps volunteer, started the business to create market demand that could boost West African agricultural economies. Kuli Kuli donates 15% of its sales to nonprofits that work to cultivate moringa and says increased cultivation will help local communities. The startup emphasizes moringa’s nutritional profile in its marketing, and it aims to scale manufacturing and expand sales and marketing. It plans to use recent funding to build out the team and enable larger production runs.

Participated · Series C · Jan 2019

MycoTechnology harnesses the metabolic engine of mushrooms—mycelium—using natural fermentation to produce novel food ingredients. Its product portfolio includes ClearIQ, a kosher and halal all‑natural bitter blocker, and FermentIQ, a plant‑based meat analog ingredient made by fermenting pea and rice protein with shiitake mycelium. The company positions its ingredients as solutions for sugar reduction, food insecurity, sustainable protein and natural immune support, and aims to improve taste and functionality in plant‑based products. Founded in 2013 and based in Aurora, Colorado, MycoTechnology says its platform can add new-to-the-world ingredients from the fungal kingdom. The startup plans to use recent funding to further capitalize its fermentation technology platform and expand its geographical footprint, prioritizing launches in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. MycoTechnology emphasizes improving the palatability of alt‑protein to help drive broader consumer adoption. MycoTechnology develops a mushroom fermentation platform to create food-processing solutions and functional ingredients made from mycelium. The company is Colorado-based and was selected from more than 150 global applicants to win the Radicle Protein Challenge, receiving a US$1 million investment prize. It previously closed a US$39 million Series D backed by Greenleaf Foods, Tyson Ventures and Eighteen94 Capital. Management has stated plans to expand its line of ingredients and food-processing solutions made using mycelium. The company also alluded to an opportunity for an IPO in late 2022. As part of the prize, MycoTechnology will gain access to the agricultural network and expertise of Radicle and Syngenta to accelerate its technology. MycoTechnology develops mushroom-based functional ingredients, including ClearTaste (a bitterness masker) and PureTaste, a fermented pea-and-rice protein that is 77% protein. The company raised $39M in a Series D to help build and scale its functional ingredients platform. PureTaste is produced by fermenting pea and rice protein with shiitake mycelia and is positioned for use in meat alternatives, snack bars, dairy alternatives, and baked goods. ClearTaste is commonly used to mask the aftertaste of stevia, enabling sugar reduction, and is also used in CBD products, coffee, chocolate, and low-sodium formulations made with potassium chloride. MycoTechnology's CEO, Alan Hahn, has said the company has projects that may create opportunities to go public, with a previously announced IPO plan for late 2022. The article also situates the company within a growing mycoprotein market, noting industry expansion and other recent fundraising by fungi-based ingredient startups. MycoTechnology is a Denver, CO–based developer of a novel organic food processing platform that transforms agricultural material into functional ingredients. Its offering includes ClearTaste, which enables companies to reduce sugar by blocking bitterness, and PureTaste®, a sustainable, functional, plant-based protein. The company is led by CEO Alan Hahn, CSO Anthony Clark, COO Rick Becker, and CFO Jonathan Jachimiec. MycoTechnology closed a $30M Series C to accelerate expansion, speed R&D project execution, and grow the team to support current and future projects. The firm targets major challenges in the food and beverage industry by commercializing ingredient solutions derived from its platform. MycoTechnology develops functional food ingredients using mushroom fermentation, commercializing products for the food and beverage industry. Its first product, ClearTaste®, is a certified organic bitter blocker that helps companies reduce sugar in their products. The company is commercializing a Shiitake-fermented vegetable protein called PureTaste, which the article describes as highly digestible, non-GMO, vegan, low in calories/fats/carbohydrates and rich in vitamins and minerals not found in competing proteins. After ClearTaste commercialization, MycoTechnology is focusing on addressing challenges in the protein industry with PureTaste. The company intends to use new funds to continue to grow operations, and its commercial facility will initially be able to produce 4,000 metric tons of PureTaste per year. MycoTechnology was founded in 2013 by Alan Hahn, who serves as CEO.

Participated · Series A · Sep 2018

Cargo provides qualified ridesharing drivers with free boxes stocked with convenience-store items and a mobile web menu so riders can purchase goods on-trip without an app. The company has partnered with brands including Kellogg’s, Starbucks and Mars Wrigley Confectionery and has launched integrations with Uber and an international licensing deal with Grab. Cargo has activated more than 12,000 drivers across 10 cities; riders have ordered over two million products and transact with the service every five seconds. To date the company has raised $30 million in venture funding. Cargo says it will use new capital to scale in the U.S. and internationally and to develop new digital services and on-trip experiences for riders. Strategic investments from gaming and entertainment executives are intended to help build those digital offerings. Cargo provides drivers with a hardware and software solution that turns rideshare cars into mini convenience stores for snacks, drinks and essentials. The startup also runs sponsored free-sample campaigns with CPG brands (Kellogg, Mars Wrigley, Red Bull) that serve as a marketing and distribution channel and generate anonymous usage data for those brands. About 30% of paid transactions follow a rider trying a sponsored free item. Drivers earn a 25% commission on paid orders plus a $1 base commission per order; the average driver earns roughly $100–$115 per month while the top 10% make up to $275 and convert 30–60% of riders. Revenue is split roughly 50/50 between direct product sales to riders and distribution deals with manufacturers. The company plans to deploy its solution in about 20,000 cars and expand into one new city per month for the next six months before pursuing a Series A to scale toward 100,000 cars and beyond. Cargo provides drivers with a custom center‑console display stocked with snacks and essentials and a unique URL/code that lets passengers browse and pay via credit card or mobile wallets like Apple Pay. After a passenger purchases an item the driver is notified and hands the item to the rider; Cargo tracks sales and automatically sends replenishment when inventory runs low. Drivers sign up for free and are paid $0.50 per item distributed; some items are provided free to riders but still generate payment to Cargo and drivers from brands. The company reports that the top 30% of drivers sell about 500 items per month and the majority make at least $100 per month on average. Cargo works with brands to distribute samples and capture transaction demographics (time, location) for marketing insights. The service is operating in New York, Chicago and Boston and has received driver requests from 49 states; Jeff Cripe is co‑founder and CEO.

Led · Series D · Jun 2018

Ucan Company produces nutrition products formulated around a patented, naturally cooked non-GMO food starch that delivers a slow release of complex carbohydrates. Led by CEO Shoba Murali, the company offers its products in powder and bar formats and in a variety of flavors. The product is positioned to provide sustained energy and is currently sold to athletes. Ucan is based in Woodbridge, Conn. The company raised $5.75M in a Series D financing to support its growth. It plans to use the funds to invest in branding and distribution and to expand its market from athletes to everyday individuals.