Scaling a Mission-Driven Business: Lessons from Lisa Curtis, Founder of Kuli Kuli Foods

In this episode of Her CEO Journey, we’re joined by Lisa Curtis, the dynamic founder and CEO of Kuli Kuli Foods. Lisa’s journey began during her Peace Corps service in Niger, where she struggled with finding nutritious food. A group of local women introduced her to moringa, a superfood that helped tackle malnutrition—and that simple solution later became the foundation of her thriving business. 

Recognizing the potential of moringa as both a powerful source of nutrition and a way to support the livelihoods of small farmers, Lisa began her journey in partnership with these farmers. She set out on a mission to introduce this superfood to the global market. As Kuli Kuli grew from a grassroots effort to an international brand, Lisa Curtis faced challenges such as consumer education and fundraising for her mission-driven company. 

Key Takeaways

• Aligning your company's mission with both profit and purpose is crucial for long-term success, especially in the CPG industry.
• Finding a product that resonates with your passion and values helps create a more meaningful and mission-driven business.
• How Kuli Kuli collaborates with women farmers in developing countries to create positive change in the food industry. 
• Achieving scale in the CPG industry is essential to drive cashflow positivity and optimize economies of scale across supply chain and manufacturing.
• Kuli Kuli leveraged a variety of financing strategies—crowdfunding, angel investors, grants, and customer loans—at different stages of growth, each tailored to the company's needs at the time.

Episode Highlights

• [04:20] – Lisa’s Peace Corps journey and discovering the power of moringa to found Kuli Kuli Foods.
• [10:05] – The early challenges of building Kuli Kuli and securing funding.
• [14:45] – The challenges and rewards of introducing a new superfood to the U.S. market. 
• [17:20] –  Developing a successful pricing and margin strategy to achieve growth and profitability while staying true to the mission. 
• [19:30] – Understanding each retailer's game and creating a pricing strategy for each one. 
• [20:30] – Unexpected direct costs that undermine the margin and Kuli Kuli’s ability to learn from experiences around distributor’s fees. 
• [25:00] – How to create and maintain an ethical and impactful supply change and the value of high-chain diversification to manage quality.
• [28:15] –  How Kuli Kuli integrates social impact into its business model working closely with each group of local farmers.
• [29:50] - Expand and grow Kuli Kuli’s business model to other superfoods.
• [31:20] - Lisa discusses the challenge of reaching profitability in the CPG sector, emphasizing how difficult it is to make money when you're a small business.
• [31:48] -  Lisa shares how Kuli Kuli navigated financing challenges by using a mix of different financing paths. 
• [36:20] - Negotiating loan terms and finding investors that align with your mission. 

Resources

• Kuli Kuli Foods website: kulikulifoods.com
• Lisa Curtis' LinkedIn
• Connect with Christina Sjahli on LinkedIn

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