Your New Favorite Ice Cream is Vegan & Good for the Environment
The future of food isn’t a robot singing and dancing to k-pop songs while you eat ramen. It’s food founders like Kai Nortey of kubé Ice Cream.
CEO Kai Nortey is crafting delicious food that is great not just for you but for your community and ultimately, the environment.
kubé Ice Cream is a Black owned vegan artisanal ice cream that co founders Nee-Nueh and Kai Nortey started in 2016 in Oakland, California.
The kubé difference & customer reviews
Customers describe this vegan frozen dessert as bold, fresh and clean tasting.
Nortey attributes this to using fresh coconut and foregoing preservatives.
People are often hesitant to try products made with coconut milk or cream because of the “strong taste.”
Nortey explains that by using fresh coconut, the coconut flavor ends up being mild.
Building a full circle generative economy
One of the reasons why this vegan ice cream doesn’t have sodium metabisulfite, a common preservative used to increase shelf life, is because the byproducts from producing kubé, coconut shreds, are given to community gardens.
Planting Justice in East Oakland, creates compost with the shreds, which is then used to grow more food.
As consumers, we should know the values of the people who make our food.
Are they contributing to our community and the planet in a meaningful way?
Or are they just trying to make a quick buck at the expense of us and the environment?
Manufacturing & copacking problems
As founders, we also need to know the values of the people we do business with.
Many food founders run into problems with co packers, companies who can produce your food in a facility at scale.
Everyone says to “just get a co packer” but Nortey wants us to be cautious.
It’s easy for co packers to recreate your product and become your competitors.
How is this possible?
Because you gave them your recipe, instructions, standard operating procedures, intellectual property – what ever is needed to make your product.
Yes, they can sign a contract saying they won’t steal your IP, but it happens to founders and going to court costs time and money.
Something that founders often don’t have a lot of.
Luckily, Nortey is her own manufacturer and will soon move into her own facility in an Oakland food Plaza.
If you are unable to get your own facility, do as much research as possible on copackers.
You will likely need introductions from brokers but don’t be afraid to interview other food founders about their copacking experiences – good and bad.
When to raise money for your restaurant or food business
Nortey stresses the importance of raising funds from investors after you have traction.
She defines traction as:
- Quantifiable evidence that people are buying at a certain rate
- Repeat customers (one of the best indicators of traction)
Then she hired a securities attorney to walk her through her funding options and to write the offering and term sheet.
Crowdfunding your food business
A growing number of Black founders are raising money by crowdfunding.
There are two main types of crowdfunding:
- Donation crowdfunding
- Regulation investment crowdfunding
The latter option is what Nortey chose, which is why she needed her securities attorney and an accountant.
There are many online platforms you can use to run your investment crowdfunding, such as StartEngine and Republic, but you will need your securities attorney to file paperwork with the SEC.
Which investors are right for you?
Nortey knew that VC funding was not right for kubé.
VCs want highly scalable products and services which is why they typically invest in tech companies and not restaurants or food businesses.
kubé is on a slow journey. Deliberately.
Nortey knows that scaling her company too fast can be disastrous. One of the reasons why this Oakland ice cream tastes so good is because local ingredients are used. That would have to change with VC funding.
She wants Black and Brown people at all levels of company leadership. She also wants to employ formerly incarcerated people.
It’s crucial that investors align with these values.
So, where did she find these investors?
Where to find investors
After attending several conscious company conferences and events, Nortey was able to find investors.
She raised $123K in revenue-based debt within 4 months.
These investors have non-voting preferred stock.
This means they cannot vote on the direction of the company.
Which you can imagine, makes it even more difficult to find investors.
In exchange for money, they often want control, or at least, a say in major company decisions.
kubé Ice Cream Flavors
The Salted Caramel with Toasted Pecans is my favorite flavor. Other kubé flavors include:
- Pineapple Ginger
- Goddess EmpowerMint
- Madagascar Vanilla Bean
- Bittersweet Chocolate with Cacao Nibs
- Key Lime
- Strawberries n’Cream
- Coffee Latté
Past flavors:
- Lemon Ginger
- Passion Fruit
- Sweet Potato Pie
- Orange Turmeric
- Cardamom
Where to buy kubé Ice Cream
There are three ways to buy kubé Ice Cream:
- Mandela Grocery Co-Op 1430 7th St, Oakland, CA 94607 (directly outside of BART’s West Oakland station)
- Grand Lakes Farmer’s Market on Saturdays (746 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA 94610)
- KubeNiceCream.com: Local delivery in Oakland and surrounding areas is available. Shipping throughout the U.S. is also available.
Different options for funding your restaurant or food business
How to Get Funding for Your Business with No Money
More Black owned ice cream. Vegan too.
7 Houston Ice Cream Places | Black Owned | Vegan & Dairy Free Options
kubé hasn’t taken VC funding. Should you?
10 Things to Know about Venture Capital for Restaurants & Food Businesses
