It’s no secret that Jay-Z has added the title of “investor” to his resume, along with his being an award-winning rapper and an astute entrepreneur. Recently, he added another vegan enterprise into his investment portfolio. During its initial funding round, the rapper-entrepreneur aided vegan cheesemaker Misha’s Kind Foods in securing $3 million worth of seed investments.
The investment was made via Jay-Z’s Marcy Venture Partners (MVP) together with branding firm Lisa Shamus & Partners (LSP.)
According to MVP co-founder Jay Brown, Misha’s Kind Foods’ mission is aligned with their company’s own values, having a high regard for sustainability, employee and community empowerment, inclusiveness, accessibility, health, wellness, and the capacity for self-expression.
For their part, Misha’s founders Ian Martin and Aaron Bullock hope that the investment will spur on the further growth of their company. They see Jay-Z’s participation in their venture via MVP as a confirmation that their artisan products are of excellent quality. Also, they hope it will help bring in cultural insights, corporate expertise, as well as branding knowledge to help them grow their business.
Following the success of their initial funding round, Martin and Bullock are set to expand their customer base and hope that more clients will appreciate the great care that goes into the production of their cheeses. Indeed, Misha’s Kind Foods is a company that prides itself on creating clean plant-based products without vegetable oils, soy, synthetic fillers, and starches.
We are here to serve the large community of cheese lovers, plant-based and not,” Bullock says of their company. “Everything we make is kind to your body, kind to the planet, and kind to your wallet, she added.
Poised for growth
At present, the Misha’s Kind Foods line includes vegan cheese products made with a blend of cashew and almond milks. Each one is made in such a way that it captures the taste and texture of regular dairy cheeses through various blends of herbs and spices.
While it offers vegan analogs of classics like smoked cheddar and ricotta, it also offers more exotically flavored cheese spreads like its highly popular Black Truffle. Other cheeses include the fiery Seven Point Five peppered through with habanero and jalapeno chilies; French Connection, which features nigella seeds, black olives, and herbes des Provence; and the cheekily-named (and surprisingly close to classic) Lox with capers and dill but uses smoky-tasting roasted carrots in the place of the eponymous smoked salmon.
Thanks to the investment, Martin and Bullock plan to expand their existing product line, grow their production and management teams, and increase their retail presences reach.