Ethically-sourced ingredients company secures seed funding, expands national presence

SIMPLi, the ingredients brand delivering ethically-sourced food for a better world, has secured an initial seed round of funding that will catapult its next stage of growth. The investment will allow the company to strengthen its national presence for B2B relations through additional organisational support and marketing initiatives that hone collaborations and partnerships. The funds will also enable recruitment to its best-in-class team and allow them to scale their operations, sales, and marketing departments.

“We see a tremendous opportunity to boost consumer confidence in our global food supply chain, while improving the environment through regenerative agriculture practices and supporting the livelihoods of the farmers and communities we work with,” said Sarela Herrada, co-founder of SIMPLi. “We’re thrilled to have incredible investors who believe that our brand is changing the food industry for the better.”

SIMPLi is the first-of-its-kind ingredient company committed to improving international supply chain transparency and traceability, and supplying nutrient-dense, delicious products to consumers at a competitive price. The seed funding round was led by the Abell Foundation that invests in promising Baltimore-based companies that offer attractive returns and environmental and social benefits, with additional backing by like-minded companies and impactful investors including Seth Goldman, co-founder of Eat the Change and Honest Tea, and chair of the Board of Beyond Meat. Since its launch in early 2020, the company is on track to increase its year-over-year revenue by six times.

“Consumers, restaurants and retailers are demanding more transparency of where their foods come from and how they are grown,” said Seth Goldman. “I am proud to support the SIMPLi team, who are not only working to set the highest standard when it comes to food and supply chain integrity, but also providing people with delicious, nutritious and climate-friendly foods.”

On the heels of its funding, SIMPLi has also announced its partnership with Whole Foods Markets. SIMPLi’s regenerative organic red, white and tri-colored quinoa products will be available in 49 Whole Foods locations across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington, DC. Its expansion into Whole Foods is the company’s latest venture to drive long-term market demand of existing farmers, and expand the SIMPLi footprint and market accessibility opportunities to additional grains, oils, spices and beans from producing communities in Peru, Greece and other SIMPLi supplying countries.

SIMPLi has developed partnerships with national brands like Daily Harvest, sweetgreen, and &pizza, among others, becoming their go-to wholesaler partner to source and delivering them the highest quality international ingredients for their customers. In addition to its Whole Foods debut, SIMPLi is currently available at 100+ brick and mortar stores in the Mid-Atlantic region and various e-commerce platforms including Patagonia Provisions. The launch with Whole Foods serves as an introduction to large scale retail partnership opportunities to further share the SIMPLi mission, and to share SIMPLi’s story of fighting fraudulent food activity, the values of regenerative agriculture, and accessibility to nutrient dense crops to consumers across the nation.

“Our partnership with Whole Foods is an exciting amplification of our work to bring the best, sustainably sourced ingredients from around the world to kitchens everywhere,” said co-founder Matt Cohen. “Expanding our national footprint with such a prominent partner affirms the success of our business in less than two years since our launch.”

For more information on SIMPLi and its product assortment, visit: www.simpligood.co.