New Frontier Foods - Maker of Ocean's Halo™ Seaweed Chips - Raises $1.7 Million in Seed Funding

BURLINGAME, Calif., Nov. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Burlingame-based New Frontier Foods Inc., maker of Ocean's Halo™ Seaweed Chips, today announced that it has raised $1.7 million in its first round of seed funding. Private investors and advisory board members include industry leaders from the worlds of food, retail and technology, including current and former executives at ConAgra, Starbucks, Pepsico, Hershey's (Scharffen Berger), Boulder Canyon Natural Foods and Facebook. The company raised additional funds through CircleUp, an online platform that helps connect investors with consumer brands.

Founded by four dads who hail from the worlds of technology, consumer packaged goods and finance, New Frontier Foods is on a mission to leverage the science of superfoods to make ordinary foods delicious and healthy. The Company's first product, Ocean's Halo The Seaweed Chip, is the first totally delicious, crispy, crunchy chip made from sustainably harvested seaweed. Ocean's Halo Seaweed Chips won the "Best of the Press" award at the 2013 Natural Products Expo East, the largest natural, organic, and healthy products trade show on the East Coast.

"Thanks to our investors' support—and consumers' voracious appetite for seaweed and healthier snack options—we're committed to making the snack aisle a healthier place," said Michael Buckley, VP global business communications for Facebook and one of New Frontier Foods' four founding dads. "Coming from the tech world, bringing pioneering products to market in record time is in our DNA and we're looking forward to taking the snack aisle by storm."

The worlds of Silicon Valley and natural food entrepreneurs are getting closer and closer everyday as private-equity investors and venture capitalists recognize the growth potential of this nascent, but quickly expanding category. In fact, the US snack market is projected to grow to $74 billion by 2015 (IRI/Symphony report), with seaweed snack sales up 78% over last year (CSI/Nielson).

"I have been so impressed with what this team has achieved," said John Maggio, co-founder of Boulder Canyon Natural Foods, who serves on the Company's Advisory Board. "In addition to conceiving and bringing to market a smart and innovative concept in healthy snacking, they've proven themselves talented brand-builders, who understand the power of social media and online channels to engage customers and build consumer demand."

Click here to watch founders Mike Shim and Robert Mock describe the story behind Ocean's Halo The Seaweed Chip and the opportunity for their new food startup, New Frontier Foods.

More About Ocean's Halo Seaweed Chips

Nutritious enough for the produce aisle, but delicious enough for the snack aisle, Ocean's Halo Seaweed Chips are made from only sustainably grown seaweed and other natural, real ingredients. Ocean's Halo Seaweed Chips are baked, taste great, and are packed with vitamins and minerals, with none of the bad stuff like GMOs, trans fats, MSG, or artificial anything.

Ocean's Halo Seaweed Chips are a whole lot better for the planet than other snack chips out there because seaweed is farmed on the Earth's most sustainable farm "land": the ocean. No fresh water, no fertilizer, and no deforestation required, seaweed needs only nature to make it grow, making ocean farms more sustainable than even the most environmentally sensitive land farms. Ocean's Halo Seaweed Chips are sold in 100% compostable bags produced from wood pulp that is sourced from managed tree farms.

Currently available online and at select retailers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Ocean's Halo will roll out nationally over the coming months thanks to its relationship with several of the best natural and specialty distributors in the US.

About New Frontier Foods Inc.

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, New Frontier Foods Inc. was founded in 2011 by four dads on a mission to leverage the science of superfoods to make ordinary foods delicious and healthy. Ocean's Halo™ Seaweed Chips, the first totally delicious crispy, crunchy chip made from sustainably harvested seaweed, is the first product from New Frontier Foods and is currently available online and at select retailers. Advisors to the Company, which has raised $1.7 million in funding to date, include former and current executives from ConAgra Consumer Foods, Starbucks, Pepsico, Sharffen Berger Chocolate (Hershey's), Facebook and Boulder Canyon Foods. New Frontier Foods is proud to donate two percent of its profits to organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium Save the Oceans program that are fighting for the health of our oceans. For more information about Ocean's Halo Seaweed Chips go to www.oceanshalo.com. Retailers interested in learning more about ordering Ocean's Halo Seaweed Chips can email [email protected]. Join the Ocean's Halo conversation on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OceansHalo and on Twitter and Pinterest @OceansHalo #SwimAgainstTheTide.

SOURCE New Frontier Foods Inc.