By Adedapo Adesanya
Amid an uncertain macroeconomic environment in Nigeria, the leading dried fruit snack brand, ReelFruit, has raised a Series A investment of $3 million to expand its production, increase its product offerings and double down on exports to the US and other international markets.
This latest round was led by Alitheia IDF which invested 67 per cent or $2 million while other investors included Samata Capital and Flying Doctor Healthcare Investment Company.
ReelFruit says with the capital, it will scale up its dried fruit production, develop new products, and increase exports by 10 x to 15 metric tons (MT) in the first year.
Key to its expansion plans, ReelFruit will acquire a new factory in Ogun State to increase its monthly dried fruit production from 6 MT to 30 MT, with job creation part of the package as it plans to hire over 200 people in its first year.
The company added that with its greater supply of dried fruit, ReelFruit will continue to innovate new products for the local and international markets.
As part of its efforts to secure high-quality raw materials, ReelFruit plans to deepen its existing work with Nigerian fruit farmers. The company will form an agro-extension services programme for 250 registered mango and pineapple producers.
The programme is also expected to boost fruit yields and help support a steady supply of high-quality raw materials for the factory.
Further, to meet strong demand for its dried fruit snacks, ReelFruit will diversify its local and international sales channels and plans to launch an e-commerce channel for direct US sales by next quarter.
ReelFruit will also unlock more business-to-business (B2B) opportunities including white-labelling and co-packing to support the national drive toward import substitution as local buyers will be able to buy dried fruit locally.
The company also disclosed that it will double last year’s revenues by November 2021.
Speaking on the development, Mrs Affiong Williams, ReelFruit CEO/Founder noted, “This investment takes ReelFruit to the next level. We can meet increased demand for our products and tackle one of our biggest challenges – raw material supply.
“We are thrilled that this will unleash a greater impact on our value chain by increasing farmer incomes and creating up to 300 decent jobs for Nigerians.”
On the part of the lead investors, Mr Tokunboh Ishmael, Alitheia IDF co-founder said the company was “proud to support ReelFruit’s ongoing efforts to boost food production in Nigeria and positively impact communities through deliberate partnerships with local farmers, distributors, and retailers.
“The investment will strengthen the company to unlock further growth, upskill farmers and improve economic outcomes for thousands of women who play a significant role in the production of ReelFruit’s products.”
Dipo Olowookere