CAVU Venture Partners continues to build out its portfolio of functional food brands, making an investment of $8 million in Kettle and Fire, a maker of grass-fed bone broths, soups, and chili. As part of the deal, CAVU Co-Founder Clayton Christopher will join the Kettle and Fire Board of Directors.
Founded by brothers Justin and Nick Mares, Kettle and Fire’s product line is produced from animals raised without added hormones or antibiotics, includes organic ingredients, and has 19 times the collagen compared to its closest rival on the market. The result is a premium product packaged in recyclable and biodegradable containers made mainly of wood fiber.
Since its launch, the company has seen its sales triple every year, and currently has its products in Wegmans, Whole Foods, Thrive Market, HEB, Sprouts, and other retailers with expectations to earn more than $20 million this year.
A Matter of Function
Seventy-six percent of Americans find the messages being pushed in connection with food and health to be confusing, according to data from the 2017 Food and Health Survey of Americans conducted by the international Food Information Council (IFIC).
For decades, foods such as eggs and butter were blamed for rising cholesterol levels, however today are lauded for being high in protein or having a natural ingredient list – changes that create frustration on the part of consumers who are now doing their own research, and are taking control of their dietary choices. Topics such as gut health, probiotics, or prebiotics are now commonplace.
“What we’ve seen is that consumers have gone from demanding better-for-you to demanding good-for-you,” Christopher told Project Nosh. “Ten years ago people weren’t really thinking about gut health at all and no one knew what a probiotic was. You look at it now, and its mainstream.”
Kettle and Fire sees its line of bone broths as fitting with these consumer trends. Calling it a “superfood”, the company states that bone broth has been noted for thousands of years due to its high collagen content, bioavailable minerals, amino acids, and nutrients that benefit your gut, joints, skin, energy level, sleep, and immune system.
This deal will see Kettle and Fire join CAVU’s existing functional food portfolio companies including REBBL, a maker of organic and functional coconut milk-based, super-herb beverages that ethically sources organic whole roots, extracts, berries, barks, and leaves such as matcha, turmeric, ashwagandha, maca and schizandra from 29 different countries to make functional, nutrient-dense beverages that are soy-free, gluten-free, GMO-free, and made without cane sugar, carrageenan, thickeners, gums, natural flavors, or agave.
It will also join Bulletproof 360, a maker of science-based, high-performance foods and beverages founded in 2013 by bestselling author and self-proclaimed biohacker Dave Asprey that develops food and beverages from a platform of science-based information that can provide consumers with techniques, tools, increased focus, and the enhanced energy for a better life.
One aspect of its business model that sets Kettle and Fire apart is the fact that its products are shelf stable, enabling the company to develop a strong direct-to-consumer sales model outside of traditional retail channels.
“Not that retail won’t be critically important for the brand to grow,” Christopher told Project Nosh, “…but along the way we feel like having that direct relationship is going to allow us to perform even better in retail by education and conversations with consumers.”
-Lynda Kiernan