Plant-based beverage model Koia has acquired funding from musician The Weeknd, actor and comic Kevin Hart, and quite a few different A-list traders throughout the music, sports activities, and leisure industries. The investor roster consists of skilled athletes Kyler Murray (NFL quarterback), Ryan O’Reilly (NHL hockey participant), Josh Bell (MLB baseball participant); younger artists and executives together with Cordae (music artist), Web Cash (music producer), and Pink Sweats (music artist); and others.
The cultural icons have invested in Koia to help its mission of constructing nutritious plant-based meals extra accessible and handy for all with its ready-to-drink plant-based protein drinks. The brand new capital will assist help product innovation and retail enlargement and Koia’s imaginative and prescient of constructing plant-based, low-sugar choices out there in all places.
“As we proceed to construct this firm and break floor within the beverage business, we’re thrilled for this extremely proficient and various group of traders to be a part of our Koia household,” Chris Hunter, Koia co-founder and CEO, stated in an announcement. “Their voices and views are significant within the dialog round well being and vitamin, they usually share our collective ardour for creating higher entry to well being.”
Koia
Bringing vegan protein to underserved communities
Final yr, Koia partnered with skilled basketball participant and vegan Chris Paul—who presently performs level guard for the Phoenix Suns and can be an investor in Koia—to deliver its plant-based shakes to underserved communities, beginning with the campuses of Traditionally Black Schools and Universities (HBCUs). Beneath the brand new partnership, Paul launched a Koia merchandising machine crammed with its nutrition-packed, plant-based drinks at HBCUs that Paul has relationships with. The vegan merchandising machine initiative is barely one of many collaborative efforts deliberate between Paul and Koia.
Paul additionally bought 50,000 models of Koia’s Straw-nana Dream Smoothie taste and donated them to GoPuff, a platform that provides quite a lot of client merchandise for fast supply nationwide. Paul joined GoPuff final yr to assist the platform diversify its plant-based choices, significantly these made by Black- and Brown-owned companies.
“After working carefully with Koia for the previous a number of months, I can see how dedicated they’re to constructing a profitable enterprise and serving to folks lead more healthy lives,” Paul stated in an announcement. “With this new spherical of traders and mates becoming a member of the Koia Krew, we’ve much more potential to create alternative and entry for underserved communities.”
Koia
Bringing plant-based vitamin to the frontline
In 2020, simply because the world was turned the other way up because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Koia launched its Koia Kares program to help healthcare and frontline employees battling the pandemic. The model was scheduled to launch two new vegan shake flavors (Keto Cookies ‘n Cream and Protein Chocolate Peanut Butter) previous to the pandemic and pivoted to make use of its stock to serve these in want, donating greater than 14,000 of its vegan vitamin drinks. By way of its partnership with Founders Give, a corporation using the meals and beverage business, the model equipped 4,464 bottles to New York Metropolis healthcare employees.
“Our courageous and devoted healthcare professionals are working across the clock. Drained, worn down, and no time to care for themselves, they want a lifeline and somebody to look after them too, which is why it was vital we did our half by providing quick, straightforward, and handy vitamin,” Koia co-founder and CEO Chris Hunter instructed VegNews on the time. “Koia and different firms like us are uniquely positioned to supply well being and wellness assets to folks. It solely made sense [that] we use these assets within the areas it was wanted most.”
Koia
Vegan keto smoothies
Co-founded in 2016 by Hunter (who additionally based grownup beverage model 4 Loko and Not Your Father’s Rootbeer), Koia presents three strains of vegan drinks: Koia Protein, Koia Smoothies, and Koia Keto. The brand new funding marks a major milestone in Koia’s journey because the model celebrates a record-setting yr of practically $60 million in retail gross sales with 35 million bottles bought, rounding out one hundred pc year-over-year progress and a 400 p.c improve in gross sales throughout the previous three years.
In 2019, Koia debuted its line of vegan keto smoothies in Cake Batter, Chocolate Brownie, and Caramel Crème flavors solely at Complete Meals Market. The Koia Keto line options low-sugar, high-fat smoothies crafted particularly for these following a ketogenic (“keto”) food plan who intention to devour 80 p.c of their day by day energy from fats, which they usually supply from meat and dairy merchandise—a difficulty that Koia tackles with its vegan smoothies. Now, the model presents expanded flavors in its keto and protein strains, together with a fruit-based smoothie line, in 17,000 shops throughout the US, together with Complete Meals, Goal, Walmart, Gopuff, and 7-Eleven.
“Koia is a dope, wholesome plant-based drink that simply so occurs to style unbelievable,” rap artist Cordae stated in an announcement. “I like the product and use it every day, so the chance to grow to be an early investor was a no brainer.”
For extra on movie star investments, learn:
Post Malone Leads $2.3 Million Investment in New Vegan Burger Brand
Jay-Z Helps Vegan Cheese Brand Misha’s Raise $3 Million
Rihanna Invests in Vegan Cookie Company
Nicole Axworthy is the Information Editor at VegNews and creator of the cookbook DIY Vegan.
