Why These Investors Are Doubling Down on Pediatric Nutrition

As conversations around health equity and childhood outcomes continue to gain urgency, a growing group of early stage investors is focusing on an often overlooked lever for long term impact: what kids eat every day.

For Atlanta based investment group 1248 Angels, that focus is part of a broader investment thesis centered on healthcare access and consumer essentials. The group recently invested in Omega 3 Nutrition, a functional food company delivering omega rich food products primarily through K-12 school systems, as well as hospitals, universities, and airlines. The investment reflects how 1248 Angels looks for companies that operate inside essential infrastructure and shape long term outcomes.

Founded by De’Havia Stewart and Jewel Walker, 1248 Angels is an early stage investment group that writes checks of up to $150K into Seed and Series A startups. The group brings together accredited investors across a wide range of professional backgrounds, including operators, medical professionals, technologists, and executives. The network is intentionally built to diversify cap tables and ensure that communities historically excluded from venture capital have a seat at the table as both founders and investors.

“Our healthcare thesis is focused on improving access, quality, and delivery of care in systems that shape long term outcomes, and our consumer essentials thesis is about products tied directly to health, safety, and well being,” said Stewart, Co Founder of 1248 Angels. “When you look at pediatric nutrition through that lens, it sits squarely at the intersection of both.”

The Overlooked Reality Behind School Food 

For many families, school meals are not just a convenience. They are a critical part of a child’s daily nutrition.

According to the Food Research and Action Center, approximately 29 to 30 million children in the U.S. participate in the National School Lunch Program each day, with more than 21 million receiving free or reduced price meals. For many food insecure students, the breakfast and lunch they receive at school are their only reliable source of nutritious meals during the week. This reality is especially pronounced in communities commonly described as food deserts, which are neighborhoods where residents have limited access to full service grocery stores and affordable, healthy food options, often due to distance, transportation barriers, or economic constraints. In these areas, school meal programs function not just as a supplement, but as a critical piece of the local food system.

Because of this, what schools are able to serve has an outsized impact on children’s physical health, energy levels, and ability to focus in the classroom. Yet many school meal programs are still dominated by highly processed foods that are low in nutrients and high in sugar and sodium.

That systemic gap is what Omega 3 Nutrition is designed to address.

A Company Built For The Way Kids Actually Eat 

Omega 3 Nutrition was founded by Edwin “Bright” Djampa, a trained food scientist whose interest in brain health was shaped by his sister’s neurological disorder and his academic focus on how omega nutrients support mood, memory, and cognitive performance.

Rather than building a brand focused on grocery retail first, Bright built Omega 3 around institutional distribution from day one. The company’s products, including omega fortified granola bars and single serve cereal pouches, are designed specifically to meet the strict nutritional and allergen requirements of school districts and healthcare systems, while still being appealing and easy for children to eat.

This allows Omega 3 to reach students directly during breakfast and lunch programs, instead of relying on families to discover and purchase healthier options through grocery stores that may not even be accessible in many communities.

Traction That Supports The Thesis 

Before raising its recent Seed round, Omega 3 had already grown from low six figure revenue to multi million dollar annual revenue, while reaching seven figures in net profit and building a repeatable institutional sales engine anchored in K–12 contracts.

That level of capital efficiency is rare in early stage consumer packaged goods, where many brands rely on heavy marketing spend long before reaching sustainable margins.

For 1248 Angels, this performance reinforced the original thesis that essential distribution channels can unlock both impact and strong business fundamentals.

“We are drawn to companies that can find cost effective ways to reach customers at scale,” Stewart said. “If you can embed into systems like school food programs, you can build durable revenue while serving communities that are often overlooked by traditional consumer brands.”

Omega 3’s customer relationships are also highly recurring, with school districts and healthcare systems placing repeat orders tied to academic calendars and long term procurement cycles. This creates predictability that is uncommon in early consumer businesses.

Why This Bet Now 

Omega 3 is also operating in a regulatory environment that is pushing institutions toward healthier food options.

New school nutrition standards are expected to further restrict added sugars and sodium over the next several years, while states are increasingly tightening ingredient requirements. These shifts are forcing legacy suppliers to reformulate products, often at the expense of taste or cost.

Omega 3’s products were built from the start to align with these evolving standards, positioning the company to benefit from policy tailwinds rather than react to them.

“When regulation and public health goals are moving in the same direction as your product, that creates a very strong setup for long term growth,” Stewart said.

Investing Where Infrastructure Meets Impact 

For 1248 Angels, the investment in Omega 3 reflects a broader strategy of backing companies that embed into essential systems such as education, healthcare, and financial services.

Rather than chasing short term consumer trends, the group prioritizes businesses that integrate directly into daily workflows, creating both meaningful outcomes and defensible distribution advantages.

“When you improve the food options in schools, you are not just selling food,” Stewart said. “You are investing in a child’s ability to focus, learn, and thrive.”

As 1248 Angels continues deploying capital across healthcare, consumer essentials, fintech, and B2B software, the group remains focused on founders who combine deep domain insight with scalable business models.

“Omega 3 is exactly the kind of company that fits our thesis,” Stewart added. “Strong mission, strong execution, and a path to real, lasting scale.”

Founders interested in submitting their startups for consideration, and accredited investors interested in joining the 1248 Angels network, can check out 1248 Angels website.