小蓝视频色情网页版

, a maker of sustainable fruit snacks, bagged $6.1 million in Series A funding to continue developing its product lines of dehydrated snacks that keep the skin on to help reduce food waste.

Subscribe to the 小蓝视频色情网页版 Daily

led the round and was joined by existing investor , which led RIND鈥檚 $2.25 million seed round in January 2020 to give the New York-based company a total of $8.4 million in funding, according to founder and CEO .

He comes from an investment research background, and when he started to cover the food space, he said he fell in love with the disruption and secular shifts in health and wellness.

鈥淚 am a snacker at heart, so I am always finding new products that I enjoy that could turn into big ideas,鈥� Weiss told 小蓝视频色情网页版 News. 鈥淚 was also amazed by how much produce was wasted because the peels are edible and is where the most nutrition is available.鈥�

He founded RIND in 2017, and the company launched its first products in 2018 on and in food markets, which included his favorite, Orchard Blend 鈥� a mix of peach, persimmon and apple — and Tropical and Tangy Kiwi. By 2019, RIND鈥檚 products were in 1,000 locations.

Weiss calls dried fruit a 鈥渟leepy category鈥� that is filled with brands offering the same kinds of products, such as raisins, prunes and apricots.

鈥淲e wanted to craft a brand at the intersection of two trends 鈥� functionality and sustainability,鈥� he added. 鈥淎nd we wanted to do it using unique, exotic fruits that had not been explored and where consumers鈥� tastes were skewing.鈥�

The was valued at $4.7 billion in 2018 and is projected to grow 8.4 percent annually through 2025, according to .

To go after that opportunity, the new capital enables RIND to build up its sales and operations teams, as well as its pipeline of new products. That initially includes a line of 鈥渃hips鈥� starting with oranges, apples and kiwi, which will also include the rind.

In 2020, RIND鈥檚 revenue grew 5x over 2019, and Weiss expects to more than triple sales in 2021, while also expanding to more than 3,000 retail locations, including , , and .

In addition to its direct-to-consumer channels, the company is also partnering with food delivery companies, such as , , and .

鈥淒ried fruit is just the beginning,鈥� Weiss said. 鈥淲e have a big, bold vision around the concept of skin-on snacking, including vegetables roasted with their skin on where we waste no part of the fruit or vegetables. We are just getting started.鈥�

Meanwhile, , partner and funding manager at Valor Siren Ventures, said in a written statement that in a short period of time, RIND has created and built a 鈥減urpose-driven brand.鈥�

鈥淏y crafting highly nutritious and functional snacks that help reduce food waste, we believe RIND has the potential to build a great platform that is well aligned to consumer preferences for healthy, sustainable snacks,鈥� he added.

Feature photo of Matt Weiss, founder of RIND, courtesy of the company.
Blogroll illustration: