Riff, a sustainably-minded coffee company, announced on November 10 the close of its $2.5 Million Series Seed funding round. A total of 35 new investors participated in this round, including some of Riff’s biggest advocates, Super Bowl Champion and two-time NFL Pro Bowl tight end, Vernon Davis and Chief Operating Officer of Continental Grain and former President of Anheuser-Busch, Dave Peacock.
Davis and Peacock are joined by several investors across different communities. Among those who supported this round are Randy Jozwiakowski, former vice president of Wholesaler Development at Anheuser-Busch; John Gehrs, co-founder of Pacific Foods; Kevin Waters, managing director of Incite; and Steve Foltz, the Jamba organization’s largest franchisee. These investors also serve on Riff’s diverse Advisory Board with Davis and Peacock. This group adds to Riff’s diverse Advisory Board made up of highly successful founders, executives and operators.
“With each investor, we’ve gained a powerful advocate for the brand, and in turn an advocate for the planet and for people. We’re extremely grateful for the level of belief, enthusiasm and support that we’ve received,” shares Paul Evers, co-founder and CEO of Riff. “We view each investment as taking on a promise, and will continue to put everything we have into delivering on that.”
Riff is on a mission to introduce greater sustainability to the coffee industry. Through cold brew coffee and a complementary plant-powered energy drink, Energy+ Immunity, brewed from upcycled cascara–the nutritiously-rich yet historically wasted byproduct of the coffee harvest–Riff is working to utilize 100 percent of the agricultural value of the coffee plant. As a purpose-driven company, Riff is looking forward to bringing more visibility to cascara, generating greater demand, reducing the food waste problem, keeping rivers and farms clean and empowering smallholder coffee farmers with a new significant source of revenue.
“It didn’t take me long to get excited about Riff,” shares Davis. “My first priority when deciding to support a brand is the quality of its leadership. When that‘s backed by a mind-blowing sense of purpose, you have something powerful. Riff is helping reverse coffee’s contribution to climate change while injecting economic vitality for struggling coffee farmers around the world.”
“It’s authentic brands like Riff, that are born from passion, heart and purpose that tend to do well and have staying power,” said Peacock. “Riff’s sustainability initiative with upcycling cascara is one that will resonate with the growing population of conscientious consumers seeking good-for-you and the planet alternatives.”
Riff is using this funding to continue pursuing its mission to bring more sustainability to the industry while scaling its position as an innovative, sustainable coffee company. As part of this mission, Riff has been invited to join Elliot Begoun’s The Intertwine Group (TIG) accelerator. This program helps emerging natural product brands grow to become capital-efficient, resilient brands.
“We look for brands that are doing what is right for people, the planet and profits. Riff embodies that triple bottom line approach, leading the change we want to see through sustainability, goodness and efficacy,” Begoun, TIG Founder and 30-year veteran of the natural products industry shares. “Riff is what the CPG brands of the future will look like.”
