Social Superfood Startup protecting the Rainforest sees Investment from Berlin Impact Investor

German food impact investor Katjesgreenfood has provided funding to back Berlin based fruit pulp startup The Rainforest Company. The startup was founded by Swiss entrepreneur Albana Rama and is supported by Instagram star Pamela Reif, who is currently acting as the brand’s ambassador. The transaction was closed in November 2018.

Using a state of the art nutritional value preserving High Pressure Processing Technology, The Rainforest Company produces frozen puree from açaí, a superfood from the Brazilian rainforest, that can be blended into breakfast bowls or smoothies. Just recently, together with model and fitness icon Pamela Reif, The Rainforest Company also launched a world innovation on the market — the first ready to eat açaí bowl. Like the frozen açaí puree, the bowls are organic, vegan, contain no gluten, sugar or additives, and are filled with good fats and antioxidants. Due to preservation by HPP Technology, healthy vitamins and nutrients are kept intact.

The berries processed in The Rainforest Company’s products are certified organic and are directly traded with smallholder farmers, to help them improve their living conditions and become financially self-sustainable. The wild açaí berries are harvested sustainably by hand at optimal ripeness, immediately processed within 24 hours and then shock-frozen in order to preserve its full taste and nutritional value.

Since 2017 the company has been selling the purple puree in more than 3,500 retail markets in German-speaking countries as well as its own online shop. Driven by the mission to promote a meaningful usage of the rainforest, the company committed to different environmental projects, like the Atlantic Rainforest Institution, and donates five cents for every product sold to support the conversation and forestation of the Amazon.

Now more than ever, this mission is of major importance. Forests are crucial in the battle to contain carbon dioxide emissions and the Amazon is one of the world’s most important ecosystems, sustaining and balancing all life on earth. Yet after decades of political progress to slow the destruction of the Amazonian Rainforest, deforestation is on the rise once again with an area roughly equivalent to France opened up for land conversion. Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro additionally signalled further relaxation of environmental law enforcement, putting the Amazon at serious risk.

Here is where investors need to step up since economic activities associated with the Amazon deforestation are to a large extent dependent on capital. By backing companies like The Rainforest Company, investors can purposefully use their power to help steer the future of the Amazon in ways that safeguard the ecosystem and the stability of the climate.