AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kettle & Fire, the country’s leading shelf-stable bone broth brand, today announced an $8 million Series A investment led by CAVU Venture Partners. CAVU Ventures co-founder and managing partner Clayton Christopher will join the company’s board.
The funding will be used to fuel multi-channel growth and product innovation. Kettle & Fire products are available in more than 6500 stores nationwide, including Whole Foods, HEB, Sprouts, Wegmans and many other major and independent retailers. The company also has a robust direct-to-consumer e-commerce business. Growth has been explosive, with the company on a path to triple revenue this year.
Kettle & Fire was co-founded by brothers Nick and Justin Mares in 2016. Justin had been researching bone broth as a means to improve physical performance when his brother suffered a knee injury. The brothers looked for high-quality bone broth to help speed his Nick’s recovery, but they were unable to find organic or grass-fed shelf-stable bone broth on the market. Assisted by the financial and mentorship resources of the Thiel Fellowship, Nick began creating bone broth using 100% grass-fed bones, organic ingredients and innovative packaging. Justin soon joined Nick in the endeavor, and Kettle & Fire was launched.
Kettle & Fire launched with three grass-fed beef and organic chicken bone broth offerings and recently expanded into bone broth-based soups, such as Miso, Thai Curry, Tomato and Grass-Fed Chili, bringing the total products offered to seven. The brothers plan to launch additional bone broth-based products later this year.
“Nick and I created Kettle & Fire to help make delicious, nutrient-rich bone broth a part of people’s daily lives. Bone broth has so many health benefits for our gut, our skin, and our overall health due to its anti-inflammatory amino acids, bioavailable minerals, high collagen content and healing compounds. As passionate as we are about health, we’re also passionate about taste. Kettle & Fire broths are so delicious that many of our customers sip them right from a cup,” said Kettle & Fire co-founder Justin Mares.
“Justin and are I thrilled to be partnering with Clayton and CAVU. The partners there are CPG experts, founders and operators who have grown food and beverage companies into iconic global brands. They’re also as passionate as we are about getting better-for-you products into the hands of Americans who want to eat and drink nutritious foods without sacrificing taste or convenience. We couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with CAVU in this next stage of our growth,” said Kettle & Fire co-founder Nick Mares.
“Kettle & Fire is exactly the type of brand partner we seek. Consumers appreciate the superiority of their products in terms of taste, convenience and nutritional punch relative to other soups and broths currently available on the market. Justin and Nick are reinventing not just the bone broth category, but also the entire soup category through their robust innovation pipeline. They’re meeting the intense demand for their high-quality, nutrient-dense bone broth products through their best-in-class e-commerce platform and their robust national retail distribution. We’re delighted to welcome Nick, Justin and the Kettle & Fire team to the CAVU family,” said CAVU Ventures co-founder and managing partner Clayton Christopher.
About Kettle & Fire
Kettle & Fire is the leading shelf-stable bone broth brand. We slow-simmer our 100% grass-fed, grass-finished and organic bones for 10 to 20 hours or more to pull out all the collagen, protein, and amino acids into our nutrient-rich bone broth. The result is a bone broth that gives your body the nutrients it needs to thrive. Available on our website and in more than 6500 stores nationwide, including Whole Foods, HEB, Sprouts, and Wegmans, Kettle & Fire offers three delicious beef and chicken bone broth flavors and four varieties of soups, including Tomato, Butternut Squash, Miso, and Thai Curry. Visit https://www.kettleandfire.com/ to learn more.
About CAVU Venture Partners
CAVU Venture Partners invests in high growth, iconic consumer brands. CAVU was founded by consumer products veterans and serial entrepreneurs Rohan Oza, Clayton Christopher, and Brett Thomas. CAVU (Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited) is a pilot term for the best possible flying conditions. Using their deep brand-building and operational expertise, CAVU's partners seek to create the best possible conditions to enable their talented, passionate entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams. Brands include Bai, Vital Proteins, Health-Ade, One Bar, Kite Hill, Bulletproof, WTRMLN WTR and Good Culture. For more information, please visit https://www.cavuventures.com/.
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