90 employees who were hired as recently as last month were affected by the closing of Kune Food.
The startup, founded in December 2020 to offer ready-to- eat affordable meals, conducted a trial in early 2021.
Robin Reecht, the startup's founder and CEO, blamed the economic downturn and investment markets on his decision to close the business.
Kune Food raised $1 million in pre-seed funding and borrowed from a bank in Africa a year ago. The startup said it was raising $3.5 million from local and international investors.
Since the beginning of the year, we have acquired more than 6,000 individual customers and sold more than 55, 000 meals. He wrote that it wasn't enough to sustain our growth because of rising food costs and poor margins.
Kune's take-off was shaky, with founder Reecht making comments that he launched the startup after failing to get affordable ready-to- eat meals in the country.
Many people in the country took to online spaces to show off the many affordable restaurants in the country. Kune apologized for the way the statement was made.
After receiving $1 million in funding in 2021, the foodtech startup began operations with the promise of preparing and delivering to online clients freshly made meals at affordable prices. Over the last few months, the startup has begun using third-party apps to fulfill their orders.
Kune was hoping to increase production capacity and expand its operations beyond the confines of its home country. The goal was to have a countrywide footprint by the year 2024.
The startup said in a previous statement that it had invested heavily in research and development to ensure it had a fully dedicated in-house team working consistently on menu advancement so as to meet the changing demands of customers. It established hubs in order to be closer to its client.
Century Oak Capital and Consonance were part of Kune's investors.
Reecht's full statement can be found below.
Sad day. Kune Food closed down today.
Since the beginning of the year, we sold more than 55,000 meals, acquired more than 6,000 individual customers and 100 corporate customers. But at $3 per meal, it just wasn’t enough to sustain our growth.
With the current economic downturn and investment markets tightening up, we were unable to raise our next round. Coupled with rising food costs deteriorating our margins, we just couldn’t keep going.
My first thoughts go to my team. You put your heart and soul into building the Kune that so many people loved. I’m deeply sorry it didn’t work out.
To all my fellow entrepreneurs, please check the Kune “employee page” on LinkedIn and see if your recruitment needs could be filled by some of our team members. I know those are difficult times for you too. But they are terrific people who will bring tremendous value to your company. You can call me if you need any reference on a Kune employee.
My second thought goes to our investors. Some of you joined the Kune journey when it was just me and a Chef, delivering food on foot to a nearby office. Some others joined later and helped us grow into a foodtech startup with a tech platform, a factory, a kitchen studio, 7 distribution hubs, 6000 customers, and a team of 90 people. Not only did you invest in Kune but you gave us your time, brain-width, connections, and emotional support. I am deeply sorry that Kune’s vision didn’t come true. To betray your confidence is something for which I will never forgive myself.
My third thought goes to suppliers, customers, bankers, and partners of any sort who supported us along our way. I’m sincerely sorry for the outcome.
Many things could have been done differently, better certainly. The coming months will allow us to reflect on Kune’s failure, and I hope to share about it when the time will be right.
If you know anyone who could be interested to acquire Kune’s IP or Assets, please reach out by PM.
Sincerely yours,
Robin
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