Kleoss Capital acquires shareholding in Real Foods

Dean Kowarski

This will allow Real Foods to pursue exciting new acquisitions in the natural food industry in the near future. Real Foods, founded by Dean Kowarski in 2013, and partnered with Genesis Capital Partners in 2014, is at the forefront of the global trend towards health and wellness, and aims to be the leader in shaping the South African natural food industry.

“Finding a like-minded partner was very important to us,” says Kowarski. “In talking to Kleoss Capital, we realised that we had a partner that shared the values of transparency, authenticity and an entrepreneurial approach to our business that makes it such a strong leader in the health and wellness marketplace.

“Kleoss also provides another valuable resource, in that it proactively engages with its investments and businesses at a board and strategy level. So it adds a wealth of expertise to the company that will be important to our planned expansion.”

Occupying health & wellness space

In 2015, Real Foods announced the acquisition of Kauai, which it has since successfully rebranded into a premium brand in the Fast Casual market. The new positioning has refocused Kauai on tasty, healthy and natural food, with an emphasis on nutrition and responsible sourcing.

The group has also attracted like-minded partners in the health & wellness space: Virgin Active have entrenched its long-term relationship with Real Foods as its nutrition partner and the group was also selected as a launch partner for Discovery Vitality’s Active Rewards Programme.

Creative growth strategies like this appealed to Kleoss Capital. “The strong management team at Real Foods has achieved an incredible amount in a very short time and this has been a major factor in our decision to invest,” says Kleoss Capital CEO, Hale Matsipa. “However, this is also a very attractive investment sector for us and natural food and wellness is a unique subsector that targets an economically resilient and growing portion of the population.”

Kleoss Capital partner Zain Laher adds, “In our view, the business also shows massive potential for international expansion opportunities, given global market developments.”

Kowarski, Laher and Matsipa agree that the venture is potentially game changing for the South African food sector. “We are also excited about BEE transformation within Real Foods. For example, there is potential to introduce black controlled franchise stores within Kauai. This would be our modest contribution, to create black entrepreneurs through a franchise model, particularly amongst the youth. We have found Real Foods receptive to our ideas around BEE transformation,” says Matsipa.

Growing market worldwide

Globally, the natural food and health and wellness markets have grown exponentially over the past few years. A recent Fortune 500 ranking report showed a clear consumer movement towards healthier food options, with most traditional commercial fast food retailers showing declines in the ranking.

Kowarski believes that the consumer shift towards well-being and natural products is undeniable: “The health food industry is showing massive growth globally, and we are seeing that happening in South Africa, citing among others the Nielsen Global Health and Fitness Report, and US-based Fast Casual’s Top 100 Movers and Shakers Report.

“There are three health-focused food restaurants in Fast Casual’s US top 10 (Sweet Green, Zoe’s Kitchen & Native Foods Café. In Southern Africa, we see our own fast casual health brands – Kauai, Kohu and Nü Health Café – as the market leaders in this space. Kauai, Kohu and Nü Health Café have 149 stores in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mauritius and Dubai.”

Given the success of the Real Food brands, the signs are clear that South Africans want options that are in line with the Real Foods’ philosophy. The company affirms that this partnership will allow the company to provide healthy, natural food products to an ever-increasing market of health conscious consumers.