RIND raises $6.1 million in Series A funding
Summary
NEW YORK — A fresh shot of capital and a new product line are pushing RIND Snacks, Inc. closer to its aspirations of becoming a billion-dollar brand, said founder and chief executive officer Matt Weiss. Mr. Weiss drew inspiration for the business from his great-grandmother, a health food shop owner who insisted on using roots, rinds, stems and seeds in recipes to maximize nutrition and minimize waste. Previously an investor in the packaged food industry, Mr. Weiss operated RIND Snacks as a side project for two years prior to pursuing the venture full time. “The more time I spent with dynamic founders, the more I wanted to build my own company and bet on myself and my vision for waking up a sleepy category,” he said, noting the dried fruit market is worth $2 billion in the United States. “Dried fruit should be the ultimate clean single-ingredient snack category, but somewhere along the way it’s been hijacked by candymakers and confectioners who have added sugar to what is already nature’s candy, have added sulfites, the most common of which is sulfur dioxide, to enhance the color and extend the shelf life, and to make everything look uniform and beautiful and plump and almost glow a little neon.” RIND is set to expand into a new category with the launch of RIND Chips, which are thinly sliced, skin-on fruit that is air-dried and has a crunchy texture.