Back to the Roots Draws Funds for Expansive Growth

After a round of strategic seed financing totaling in $5 million, progressive natural foods company Back to the Roots® has major plans for growth in the future.

“There’s an old proverb that says ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and we know that’s so true for a business, too,” Co-Founder, Nikhil Arora, said in a press release. “From starting off selling fresh mushrooms at farmers markets, to crowdfunding our Water Garden on Kickstarter, Back to the Roots has been built through so many individuals’ support. As we looked to raise this first official round, it was exciting and obvious to us that we had to open this up to our community. We’re grateful to have had such a strong response – having an engaged, deeply committed investor base like this will be crucial as we grow Back to the Roots.”

Circle-Up, a San Francisco-based tech company moving up quickly in equity-based crowdfunding, raised $3 million from the round, which was led by Tony Robbins’ and Peter Guber’s Agency of Trillions.

Previous investors also participated in the round, including:

• Blake Mycoskie, Founder of TOMS
• John Foraker, Founder of Annie’s
• Kevin Cleary, CEO of Clif Bar

Back to the Roots said that it has plans for major growth using this new funding, with ten new products in the pipeline for 2016 and plans to accelerate product development even further.

“We see an exciting opportunity to ‘Undo Food™’, and continue to create a food company for this next generation that goes beyond natural/organic and focuses on radical transparency, sustainability, and great design,” said Co-Founder, Alejandro Velez. “We want to bring the same level of trust that families feel when they grow their own food, directly to the grocery aisle and ready-to-eat food.”

This round, the first official round the company has raised, comes on the heels of massive growth in 2015, including:

• Increase from three to eighteen total products
• Expand from ready to grow to ready to eat lines
• New, award winning 100% stoneground breakfast cereals and Organic Breakfast Toppers
• Sign an exclusive national partnership with Sodexo to launch in K-12 schools

Now, besides growth in new products, Back to the Roots plans to expand its distribution into both retailer and schools, as well as build its team at its headquarters in Oakland, CA.

The company will be will be leaving the round open for additional investment through Circleup for an additional 30 days from the date of the round, Thursday, Jan 28, 2016