Kuli Kuli, a mission-drive manufacturer and distributor of moringa-based bars, powders, smoothie mixes, and energy shots, has closed on a $5 million Series B led by Griffith Foods with eighteen94, the venture arm of Kellogg’s Company. Additional investors include InvestEco, S2G Ventures, Authentic Ventures, VilCap Investments, and Rocana Venture Partners.
The company also proudly announced backing from women-focused groups Portfolia, Astia Angels, Next Wave Impact, and individuals from Golden Seed.
In January 2017, Kuli Kuli was the maiden investment of Kellogg’s eighteen94 when it took the lead in a $4.25 million Series A for the company. S2G and InvestEco also are Series A participants and return investors.
“After eighteen94 capital led Kuli Kuli’s Series A financing in 2017, Kuli Kuli’s retail business tripled,” said Lisa Curtis, founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli. We’re thrilled to continue to partner with Kellogg to grow our retail business while partnering with Griffith Foods to expand into the foodservice and ingredient space.”
Founded in 2013 in Oakland, California, Kuli Kuli is led by Curtis, who while serving in the Peace Corps in Niger, became familiar with moringa, a plant protein that grows in tropical climates and whose leaves, pods, and oils provide higher levels of iron, calcium, and protein than leafy greens.
Similar to matcha, moringa is a versatile ingredient that has commercial applications across both savory and sweet categories, adding a complete protein and vitamins to produce highly functional and healthy foods. And similar to matcha and turmeric, Kuli Kuli believes that moringa will increasingly be found in a wide array of foods, beverages, and desserts.
Over the course of its five years, the company has been a pioneer for moringa in the U.S. market, creating a transparent and sustainable supply chain of small moringa farmers; expanding its retail network to 7,000 stores; and developing proprietary processing methods that produce a contamination-free product. And now, in an important move, Kuli Kuli is diversifying its footprint by supplying moringa as an ingredient to other major food companies.
As part of the deal, Griffith Foods plans to include moringa in its range of ingredient offerings for its foodservice customers, processors, retailers, and distributors across 30 countries.
“Griffith Foods’ purpose, that ‘we blend care and creativity to nourish the world,’ calls us to find innovative solutions to changing needs. We also know that Griffith Foods cannot do this alone,” said Brian Griffith, executive chairman of Griffith Foods. “Our strategic partnership with Kuli Kuli will help both companies elevate moringa as an exciting new ingredient, and we look forward to bringing this sustainable and healthy offering to the food sector.”
Already a staple in Ayurvedic medicine, moringa also has the potential to make inroads in Western health and wellness categories. Since Kuli Kuli’s launch, consumer awareness of moringa’s anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties has grown, and a study conducted at Rutgers University has found that moringa’s anti-inflammatory ability may outperform those of turmeric.
Having reached a 3 percent penetration rate in U.S. households, moringa now outpaces matcha and it is catching up to spirulina and wheatgrass to become the fastest growing green supplement, according to data from Nielsen.
At this point, Kuli Kuli accounts for more than half of the U.S. moringa market, and the company expects that it will soon be as popular as turmeric, which has a market currently valued at $11 billion in the U.S.
-Lynda Kiernan