Tosi Snacks Raises $15M Series B, Names New CEO

Tosi Snacks has installed its board chair Kevin Rutherford as CEO and raised a new tranche of funding to fuel new marketing campaigns in the coming year.

The Anaheim, Calif.-based company’s Series B round, led by previous investor Cambridge SPG, is still open and expected to close “north” of the $15.8 million already reported in an SEC filing, said Rutherford.

Founded in 2012, Tosi makes USDA Organic certified, gluten-free, vegan meal and snack bars and clusters sold in over 1,200 U.S. stores as well as in Dubai, Hong Kong and the Dominican Republic.

Tosi previously announced a “significant multi-million dollar” funding round in 2018, also led by Cambridge SPG. The current round included other previous investors who have remained undisclosed.

Tosi’s Series B round “marks an important capital milestone for Cambridge SPG, which has invested over $250 million of equity in the organic food sector,” said Cambridge Companies SPG managing partners Filipp and Polina Chebotareva in a written statement.

“We are committed to investing hundreds of additional millions in this sector going forward because there is such a strong need to clean up the broken food system in America,” the partners said.

Cambridge SPG’s portfolio includes other food and beverage brands like Once Upon a Farm, The Coconut Cult, Sol-ti, Vive Organic, Suja, Tosi Snacks, 4th & Heart, Lifeaid Beverage Company and Starbird Chicken.

With the blessing of Cambridge SPG, mother-daughter co-founding team Stefanie and Chelsea Hults had encouraged Rutherford to take on a more hands-on leadership role in Tosi’s day-to-day operations. He became board chair about two years ago.

The Hults will remain in “critical roles” as the team evolves into the new leadership structure and “builds out lanes” in job responsibilities, Rutherford said.

“Obviously, these two founders did everything and now just can’t do everything because we are about to scale to a whole different level,” he said.

Rutherford said he was ready to jump back into leading a team where he could directly impact a brand’s trajectory. Drawing from his marketing and leadership roles at companies like SC Johnson, Miller Brewing Co., Kashi and Nuun Hydration, Rutherford will help steer the brand’s efforts in building out awareness and trial. The new funding will most directly go towards more marketing spend on demos and sampling.

The business has grown sales about “300% for the last couple years,” Rutherford said, but is ready to add more fuel to the fire in not only its wide retail distribution network but also in ecommerce channels where it has been focusing in the last year.

“There is real energy behind the brand. Interest in Tosi remains strong,” Rutherford said. “Consumers are looking beyond the overly used term ‘better-for-you.’ That’s what Tosi is. It’s very distinctive and highly differentiated.”