Kirchner Food Fellowship Announces Investment in Superfood Company

Kuli Kuli was founded by Lisa Curtis after her time as a Peace Corp volunteer in West Africa where she learned about the moringa tree and its nutrition density. Today, Kuli Kuli sells moringa powder, various flavored all-natural bars, teas, and new green energy moringa shots that will be launched in 2016. Kuli Kuli sells their products online and in stores across America including Whole Foods and Sprouts.

“Kuli Kuli is thrilled to have the support and expertise of the Kirchner Group via the Kirchner Food Fellowship investment, to help grow our business and contribute to improving nutrition worldwide,” stated Lisa Curtis, CEO of Kuli Kuli.

Kuli Kuli also prides itself on its social mission. The company empowers farmers in the developing world with economic opportunities through a number of innovative business initiatives.

• Forestry: The company has plated over 60,000 moringa trees in Ghana.
• Jobs: Kuli Kuli has provided full time employment to over 500 small holder farmers
• Nutrition: a portion of each harvest is kept to use and sell locally

In Haiti, Kuli Kuli recently formed a partnership with the Clinton Foundation, Whole Foods Market and a local Haiti non-profit to work to reforest Haiti with moringa trees which they will then source for their new energy shots.

“Kuli Kuli is a great example of the kind of high impact businesses that the Kirchner Food Fellows seek to support,” commented Blair Kirchner, Director “We look forward to working closely with Lisa and her team to help the company continue to grow and increase its footprint in the $38B superfoods market.”

Kuli Kuli
Kuli Kuli is the first company to introduce moringa, a unique superfood, to the U.S. market in the form of a food product. Kuli Kuli’s moringa products include a line of gluten-free, vegan Moringa Superfood Bars as well as Pure Moringa Vegetable Powder and Organic Moringa Tea. Kuli Kuli’s products are carried in over 500 retail locations, including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Kroger and Fresh & Easy. Kuli Kuli supports women-owned farming cooperatives to grow moringa and use it to improve the health and livelihoods of their communities.

Lisa Curtis
Founder & CEO
Kuli Kuli Inc.
hello@kulikulifoods.com

Kirchner Food Fellowship
Kirchner Food Fellowship believes millennials are uniquely qualified to find, fund and assist promising conscious agricultural businesses and that a traditional merchant banking approach is well suited to diagnose problems and apply solutions, whether they be indigenous or imported. We are attempting to innovate capital deployment by advanced assembly of investment teams, applying a problem-based learning and solutions model along with a unique process and domain approach. The goal is to shorten deployment time frames and increase the likelihood of investment success. www.fundthefood.com

Blair Kirchner
Director
Kirchner Food Fellowship
902.817.2405
bgkirchner@fundthefood.com

Kirchner Group
The Kirchner Group believes that every business, and every portfolio of businesses, can be made more valuable and that none should become valueless, regardless of the circumstances. Kirchner Group’s proprietary platform is built on the premise that pairing deep domain expertise with process experts provides superior results. Kirchner Group has provided traditional merchant banking services since 1985 and offers advisory, operational and transactional support to companies as well as asset management services for institutional investors. The group’s clients and partners range from promising entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies and their investors. Kirchner Group also manages assets for some of the largest insurance companies, commercial banks and institutional investors in the world.

Kirchner Group’s Agriculture and Food team has more than 95 years of collective experience as operators, transaction experts and investors in the sector. Kirchner Group founded its agricultural social impact arm, Food Security Group, in 2011. www.kirchnergroup.com

Steve Dauphin
Managing Partner
Food Security Group
205.602.9845
sdauphin@fundthefood.com