Kune Food

Kune Food was a Kenyan food-tech startup founded in December 2020 by Robin Reecht to deliver affordable ready-to-eat meals.^12356713 The company raised $1 million in pre-seed funding in 2021 and sold over 55,000 meals to more than 6,000 individual and 100 corporate customers.^1235713 Kune Food shut down on June 22, 2022, after failing to raise additional funding amid rising food costs and economic downturn.^{1235678101113141617}

Timeline

Money raised

Kune Food raised $1 million in pre-seed funding in June 2021.^1235713 The pre-seed round was led by Launch Africa Ventures with participation from Century Oak Capital GmbH and Consonance.²³⁵⁷ Kune Food borrowed an undisclosed amount from a bank in Kenya.²³ Kune Food was attempting to raise $3.5 million in a seed round to ramp up operations and expand beyond Kenya.¹²³⁷¹³ As of March 30, 2022, Kune was delivering 600 meals per day at a 48% gross margin with a revenue run-rate of $650K.⁷ Kune Food sold more than 55,000 meals at $3 per meal, generating approximately $165,000 in revenue.^1235713 The cost of a 90-shilling meal rose to over 150 shillings due to rising crop prices.¹

Investors named in the sources: Launch Africa Ventures²³⁵⁷, Century Oak Capital GmbH²³, Consonance²³, Sidian Bank⁷.

What happened

Kune Food was founded in December 2020 by Robin Reecht, a French entrepreneur who had lived in Kenya for many years.¹³⁶⁷ The company aimed to deliver fresh, tasty meals for just $3 to address the lack of affordable quality food options in Nairobi.¹³⁵⁷ In 2021, Kune Food raised $1 million in pre-seed funding led by Launch Africa Ventures.^1235713 The company built industrial kitchens, hired chefs, and rolled out delivery bikes.¹ By mid-2021, over 6000 regular customers and 100 companies relied on Kune for affordable lunches.^1235713

Kune Food initially handled everything including delivery, but later began using third-party apps like Uber Eats, Glovo, and Bolt Food.²³⁷⁸ In August 2021, Kune Food launched Kune Retail, which consisted of 6 microwavable meals costing $2.8.⁷ Kune Food officially launched operations in December 2021.⁷ In February 2022, Kune Food launched its mobile app.⁵ As of March 30, 2022, Kune was delivering 600 meals per day at a 48% gross margin with a revenue run-rate of $650K.⁷

Kune Food was hoping to increase production capacity and expand operations beyond Nairobi, targeting a countrywide footprint by 2024.³¹³ The company attempted to raise $3.5 million in a seed round from local and international investors.¹²³⁷¹³ Kune Food was unable to secure the additional funding due to the economic downturn and tightening investment markets.^1235713 Rising food costs deteriorated Kune's margins, making the $3 meal price unsustainable.^1235713 The cost of a 90-shilling meal rose to over 150 shillings due to rising crop prices.¹

On June 10, 2022, Robin Reecht posted on LinkedIn that Kune Food closed down that day.¹ In the post, Reecht cited the economic downturn, inability to raise the next round, and rising food costs as reasons for closure.^1235713 Reecht apologized to employees, investors, suppliers, customers, and partners.¹³⁸¹³ He encouraged other entrepreneurs to consider hiring Kune's former employees.³⁸¹³ Reecht mentioned that Kune had grown to include a tech platform, a factory, a kitchen studio, 7 distribution hubs, 6000 customers, and a team of 90 people.³⁸¹³

Kune Food shut down operations on June 22, 2022, according to multiple sources.^23567813 The shutdown affected 90 employees, including chefs, riders, and packers, who lost their income overnight.¹³¹⁶ Kune Food filed for insolvency.⁸ Former employees anonymously told WeeTracker that the company grew too fast without fixing fundamental problems, such as running out of packaging while ingredients spoiled.¹¹¹ Former employees alleged mismanagement of funds, bloated executive salaries, and wasteful spending, with up to 70% of meals thrown away on some days.¹¹

Social media buzzed with accusations of 'foreign founders misunderstanding Africa' after Robin Reecht called Kenyan food 'too expensive' in interviews.¹ Kune Food's closure sparked public debate about the sustainability of food-tech startups in Africa.¹⁵⁷ In January 2023, Keep IT Cool announced it had completed the acquisition of assets from Kune Food.¹⁰ Keep IT Cool stated that Kune Food had been one of their biggest customers and that the acquisition would complement their expansion strategy.¹⁰

Legal outcomes

• filedKune Food filed for insolvency.⁸

Where the founders are now

Robin Reecht, the founder and CEO, announced the closure and apologized to stakeholders.^12357813 Reecht said he hoped to share reflections on Kune's failure in the coming months.²³⁸¹³

Lessons, as others put them

"We sold more than 55,000 meals... But at $3 per meal, it just wasn’t enough."Robin Reecht, founder and CEO of Kune Food^1235713

"With the current economic downturn and investment markets tightening up, we were unable to raise our next round. Coupled with rising food costs deteriorating our margins, we just couldn’t keep going."Robin Reecht, founder and CEO of Kune Food^12357813

"Many things could have been done differently, better certainly. The coming months will allow us to reflect on Kune’s failure, and I hope to share about it when the time will be right."Robin Reecht, founder and CEO of Kune Food²³⁸¹³

Sources

1. A Recipe for Failure? Inside Kune Food, startupgraveyard.africa
2. Kenya-based food-tech startup Kune shuts down due to lack of funding, Business Insider Africa, 2022-06-23
3. Kune Food shuts down barely a year after starting Kenya operations | TechCrunch, TechCrunch, 2022-06-22
5. The Fall of Kune was a Matter of When not If, CIO Africa, 2022-06-24
6. Why Kune Food Shut Down - Graveyard - Liners, liners.com
7. Kune Food Closes Shop, mwangocapital.substack.com
8. Kune Food is shutting down after filing for insolvency - tech-ish, tech-ish, 2022-06-22
10. Kune Food’s Assets Acquired By Another Food-Tech Startup, CIO Africa, 2023-01-10
11. As Kune Shutters In Kenya, Insiders Paint A Messy Picture, WeeTracker, 2022-06-25
13. Kune Food shuts down exactly one year after starting operations in Kenya - Innovation Village | Technology, Product Reviews, Business, Innovation Village | Technology, Product Reviews, Business, 2022-06-23
14. M-KOPA turns its first-ever profit, startupgraveyardafrica.substack.com, 11 months
16. The glaring problem with millennial lifestyle subsidy, The Standard, Aug 28, 20
17. 7 Multi-Million Companies Which Shut Down in 2022, Kenyans.co.ke, 2022-12-18

How this case file was put together

Every statement on this page carries a numbered note, and every note points to a court record, a regulatory filing or a named publication in the list of sources. Each statement was checked against the text of the sources it cites before it was published: a figure, a date or a name the cited source does not contain was cut rather than kept. Allegations are shown as allegations, with their status at the time of the source (filed, charged, convicted, pleaded, settled, dismissed or pending). Quoted lessons are the words of the person or publication named with them, copied from the cited source; nothing here is our own opinion of why the company failed.

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