Taika is Magic ✨
Functional Foods 2.0
Back in February 2019, Michael Sharon, who we’ve known for over a decade as an early Facebook product manager instrumental to its growth in mobile, reached out to us at Kindred Ventures about a new idea. Teaming up with Kal Freese, co-founder of Sudden Coffee, he had been exploring the concept of building a new company focused on “stealth health”, which they explained as a new way to think about functional food. They quickly ushered us over to their kitchen laboratory to try out a sample of their first product, a delicious cold-brewed coffee with special ingredients…
At Kindred Ventures and at one of our prior funds, Collaborative Fund, we were early investors in Blue Bottle Coffee, Just, and Impossible Foods, and witnessed first-hand the movement around food science, provenance, and taste, as well as the power of brand and community in this space. We began to follow and question innovation in the food space, particularly at the intersection of health, taste and wellness. What was the answer? Delicious food products which can support cognitive, immunity, and gut health by incorporating plant-based ingredients selected to boost one’s wellbeing.
So, one week later, after many magical brain-boosting coffees with Michael and Kal’s proprietary combination of alertness and calmness, and diving deeply into their version of the future of functional food with Michael and Kal, we learned what they meant by stealth health:
- uncompromisingly delicious
- authentically good for you
- tap into your existing behavior
And since that initial kitchen meeting, we have enjoyed and learned so much by partnering with them over the last 15 months on developing the formula, product, and business from day one.
Fast forward to today, we are thrilled to share that we led a $2.7M seed financing in Taika, along with our good friends at Obvious Ventures and crew of caffeinated angels.
-Steve and Kanyi
What is “Taika”?
Taika (“magic” in Finnish) is a perfectly calibrated adaptogen-infused coffee in a can, designed to keep you calm, focused and clear.
- Why coffee as the first product? People love it and drink an average of 2–3 cups a day globally. The market is $200B globally, $50B in the US alone.
- Taika is a perfectly calibrated blend of delicious ready-to-drink coffee, natural plant extracts and functional mushrooms. Designed to deliver hours of calm, focused energy, improved thinking and reduced stress.
- All products are plant-based, keto-friendly, gluten and lactose free. We don’t add any sugar, instead using natural sweeteners like monk fruit and allulose.
- We’re starting by reimagining coffee, but our vision is to create a range of stealth health products in a number of different categories to make the world tastier and healthier. Follow here for new things!
What’s Inside of Taika?
All of our products are plant-based. We don’t add any sugar or dairy. Our drinks are lightly sweetened with natural sweeteners like monk fruit and allulose.
Taika’s proprietary adaptogen blend found in every can includes:
- Caffeine — we developed a patent-pending process for naturally controlling caffeine to deliver a perfectly calibrated boost.
- L-theanine — An amino acid found in green tea leaves that counteracts some of the negative side effects of caffeine (jitters, crashes) and helps improve focus.
- Ashwagandha — A leafy, flowering plant that helps you cope with daily stress and promotes calm.
- Lion’s Mane — A mushroom that supports memory, concentration, and cognitive function.
- Reishi — An immunity-boosting mushroom used in preventative medicine.
- Cordyceps militaris — An energy-enhancing mushroom that increases stamina.
- All of these compounds are FDA GRAS certified.
What Are The Flavors?
Taika has three flavors today:
- Macadamia Latte— a sugar-free, keto-friendly latte that tastes like melted coffee ice cream. This is the first macadamia latte on the market. (This is our favorite among the Kindred team)
- Oat Milk Latte — a creamy, plant-based latte that tastes like coffee cereal milk. Dolphin smooth, an ideal amount of caffeine and no sugar added.
- Black Coffee — a brilliantly smooth, bold brew, never bitter. Unsweetened and keto-friendly.
How Can I Get Taika?
Delivery, Online, Grocery, or Text!
- You can buy coffee directly and by cold-shipped same-day delivery at Taika.co in LA, SF, or NYC. More cities to come.
- Not to disappoint the people who love their local grocer, you can also buy at premier grocery stores like Bi-Rite Market and Erewhon, as well. See our retail stores for the full list. Instacart in SF and LA, and Good Eggs in SF are also stocking Taika for you.
- And for those attached to their phone, you can just text the phone number on our can (415.212.7711). Using a combination of custom technology and humans, we’re building a scalable hospitality platform to chat with our fans and provide exceptional customer service.
