New York-based RIND has closed a US$6.1 million Series A capital raise led by Valor Siren Ventures (VSV), an early-stage investor in sustainability, food technology and retail, along with a follow-on investment from Melitas Ventures.

Since launching in 2018, the snack brand has been disrupting the dehydrated snack category with its “skin-on superfruit” touted for maximizing nutrition, minimizing food waste and helping combat childhood hunger through a recently launched school snacks campaign. 

This latest funding round will further position RIND as “a purpose-driven leader” in a once sleepy category, the company affirms.

“RIND plans to become more vertically integrated in the future, which will create a more efficient and streamlined manufacturing process and accelerate our speed to market,” Matt Weiss, founder and CEO of RIND, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

“The capital will allow us to build up RIND’s team, including deep onboarding sales, marketing and operational expertise that will be critical as we scale. In addition, the capital will enable us to forge closer partnerships with our supply chain partners to increase production capacity, invest in new technology and equipment that will lower cost through automation and accelerate NPD.”

RIND grew revenues five-fold in 2020 and expects to more than triple sales this year while expanding its retail presence to over 3,000 locations. 

This has led to partnerships with Whole Foods Market, Wegmans, Meijer, CVS, Hungryroot, Imperfect Foods, The Fresh Market, FreshDirect, Giant Eagle, Erewhon and Foxtrot. 

Function and sustainability merge 
RIND is positioned at the intersection of two significant trends in consumer packaged goods (CPG) – function and sustainability.

Having diverted more than 120,000 pounds of edible peels from landfills in 2020 alone, RIND is on track to significantly increase its impact in 2021. 

Weiss says the fruit snack space is “ripe for disruption.”

“This capital will help us build an amazing team and accelerate our growth substantially, which will, in turn, enable us to continue our efforts to combat unnecessary food waste and childhood hunger.”

In addition to the company’s efforts to fight food waste, RIND launched a school nutrition program called Love is RIND last year. 

“We donated over 5,000 bags of our fruit snack to children in underserved communities. We partner with local organizations and public schools to donate our nutritious whole fruit snacks to children on the weekends when access to food outside of school is limited. With the continued growth of RIND, we expect to donate around 25,000 bags this year.”

Flavor inspirationRIND grew revenues five-fold in 2020 and expects to more than triple sales this year.
According to Weiss, the company sees “tremendous potential” to blaze new category growth. He says with this new line of thin-cut, crispy fruit chips and a future line of lightly seasoned, crossover fruit chips that will make an “excellent alternative” to fried potato chips. 

“They pair incredibly well with dips and will elevate any craft cocktail all while providing incredible health benefits, such as fiber and vitamin C, like no other chips on the market.”

“One example of how we think differently is our RIND Orange Chips,” he details. “Orange juice is the fourth most consumed beverage in the US after water, tea and coffee. Most of that is from concentrate, which lacks the high fiber and rich antioxidants found uniquely in the fruit’s rind.”

“With our Orange Chips, we’ll be offering consumers a new way to enjoy one of the most beloved and familiar fruits while getting all the benefits of high vitamin C and fiber in a new crave-able and crushable chip form. For context, one 3 oz bag of RIND Orange Chips will contain nearly 300 percent daily value of vitamin C, making this a new product altogether – immunity chips,” he explains. 

Moreover, RIND’s Apple Chips were “an approachable and accessible first step for consumers,” says Weiss, “as many are already familiar with crispy apple snacks but not in the same form factor as we’ll be providing.”

“We are most excited for the Kiwi and Orange variety as these tangier fruits have yet to exist in snackable form, and they embody the disruptive, bold and edgy ethos of the RIND brand.” 

A competitive market 
Today’s consumers have an endless array of snacking options, making it harder for brands to compete on flavor alone, Weiss notes. 

“Dried fruit snacks are the ultimate, single-ingredient plant-based snack,” he continues. “When you think about the growth of plant-based diets, RIND fits perfectly into this movement. Our snacks are not just plant-based – they are plants.”

“Our 100 percent all-natural fruit snacks offer amazing nutrition, great versatility and ultra-convenience given their stable shelf nature. As a result, fruit snacks like RIND are well-positioned to continue to grow snack share as more consumers seek ingredient simplicity, minimal processing and terrific flavor in their snacking options.”

Immunity surges
Notably, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the immunity category has seen a surge in customer interest. 

Unlike wellness shots, RIND’s Orange and Kiwi Chips will deliver 300 percent and 200 percent of the daily value of vitamin C, respectively, Weiss notes. 

“Potato chips are probably the last snack food one would associate with this health benefit, but RIND looks to flip the script with this launch. On our packaging, we specifically highlight the fruit’s natural immunity benefits. This new line will effectively function as first-of-its-kind, single-ingredient immunity chips.”

“RIND is much more than any other dried fruit brand, especially when it comes to RIND Chips. Unlike other fruit snacks, RIND keeps the peel on, which means that our fruit snacks have more antioxidants, fiber and nutrients – often up to two to three times more than other fruit snacks.”

“Typical chips are made with grains or potatoes, which don’t feature any vitamin C or fiber,” he adds. 

“RIND is changing what fruit can be and giving it a new look that lets it be placed in various places in the grocery store,” Weiss concludes.