For Immediate Release

Contact:
Eric Schnell, MetaBrand, info@metabrandcorp.com, tel 888.611.5573
Steven Hoffman, Compass Natural, steve@compassnatural.com, tel 303.807.1042

New “Conscious Capital” Fund, MetaBrand Capital, Invests
$5.75 Million in Organic, "Healthy Energy" Beverage Maker Runa

MetaBrand Capital – a new “conscious capital” private equity fund and the investment pillar of MetaBrand – selects Brooklyn-based organic, fair trade and non-GMO Amazonian beverage maker Runa as its first major investment.

Edison, New Jersey (October 7, 2014) – MetaBrand Capital, a “conscious capital” private equity fund and the new investment pillar of MetaBrand - a full service firm providing product formulation, outsourced operations, and sales and marketing services to natural, organic and nutritional food and beverage brands – announces today a $5.75 million investment in Brooklyn, NY-based Runa LLC, supporting the growth of the natural, “healthy energy” food and beverage category utilizing the Amazonian guayusa tree-leaf.

Taking the Triple-Bottom Line approach to corporate social responsibility one step further, MetaBrand founder and longtime natural products entrepreneur Eric Schnell embraces the “Quadruple Bottom-Line,” a socially and environmentally aware business philosophy dedicated to People, Planet, Profit – and Purpose. Through the MetaBrand Capital fund, the company will primarily focus on growth capital investments in the food, beverage, nutrition and natural and organic product industries with strategic partners that embody and embrace a similar socially conscious business approach.

“This is the first major investment for MetaBrand Capital,” says Schnell. “Runa represents all the criteria that we see in the Quadruple Bottom-line business model. MetaBrand has previously partnered with Runa in helping to pioneer the ‘healthy energy’ beverage category, and this strategic partnership allowed us to see that Runa truly is a perfect example of what a conscious capital investor cares about – fair trade, organic and natural, socially responsible with a strong moral obligation to give back. We absolutely believe in Runa’s authentic story, vision and potential for the brand. The investment was the natural progression of our commitment to their mission.”

Other notable investors joined MetaBrand Capital in the round, including Mark Rampolla, founder of Zico; and Brian Krumrei, Managing Director, TSG Consumer Partners; plus investors from the music and entertainment industry including Jon Fishman, drummer for the band Phish, and Coran Capshaw, founder of artist management company Red Light Management. Nick Giannuzzi, attorney, The Giannuzzi Group, LLP, represented Runa in the deal.

Guayusa – Cousin to Yerba Maté – Leads “Healthy Energy” Beverages
Runa, co-founded in 2009 by college classmates Tyler Gage and Dan MacCombie, is a privately held company that sells beverages made from guayusa (pronounced “gwhy-you-sa”) leaves. Guayusa is a native Amazonian super-leaf with as much caffeine as a cup of coffee and double the polyphenols of leading green tea products. Unlike traditional teas, guayusa has no tannins, so it tastes surprisingly smooth and naturally sweet. Indigenous peoples in the Ecuadorian Amazon have brewed guayusa like tea for thousands of years as an essential part of what makes them “Runa” – fully alive.

With a mission to improve the livelihoods of indigenous farmers in the Amazon, Runa’s founders believe that consumers everywhere can benefit from the bounty of the rainforest without destroying it, starting with the people who live there. Runa works directly with more than 3,000 indigenous farming families who are proud to see guayusa shared around the world. These families are Runa’s partners in a Fair Trade relationship, and by organically growing guayusa in traditional forest gardens they help protect the rainforest.

“We’re anticipating strong multi-category growth of the guayusa ingredient, and we’re truly excited to work with the powerhouse MetaBrand team in our efforts to become a leading brand and ingredient platform in the organic, specialty and conventional markets,” says Gage. “With this new investment, we plan to increase our support of the distributors and retailers that have helped us build our brand so far, and go deeper in key markets where Runa is growing. We are committed to being focused and targeted with our sales growth, and are excited to educate more consumers about the benefits of guayusa and the spirit of the Runa brand.”

“Runa has successfully pioneered and established a clear market demand for guayusa as a unique ingredient,” says Debbie Wildrick, MetaBrand Chief Advisory Officer. “The company has emerged as one of the fastest growing certified organic and natural ready-to-drink brands in the U.S., and we see the opportunity for guayusa as an ingredient to have useful applications in a range of healthy products – from beverages to dietary supplements. We see guayusa as the next green tea trend, and look forward to helping Runa define clear sales and distribution strategies across food, drug, mass and convenience store channels.”

About MetaBrand?and MetaBrand Capital
Created by natural products industry veteran and Steaz Tea Co-founder Eric Schnell, MetaBrand, a “Quadruple Bottom-Line,” Certified B Corporation based in Edison, NJ, offers turnkey “R&D to retail” services to start-up and early-stage natural and organic beverage and supplement brands, including product formulation and development, manufacturing, distribution, and sales, marketing and promotional strategies. With a team of 33 advisers and long-standing industry relationships, MetaBrand helps companies quickly and efficiently develop winning formulations for natural product concepts that are on-trend and efficacious, regulation compliant, and scalable. MetaBrand Capital, a privately held, private-equity “conscious capital” fund, is the investment pillar of MetaBrand. Visit www.metabrandcorp.com, info@metabrandcorp.com, tel888.611.5573.

For information on MetaBrand Capital, visit www.metabrandcorp.com/pillar/capital/.

About Runa

Runa is a Brooklyn-based social enterprise that makes beverages brewed with the guayusa (pronounced “gwhy-you-sa”) “super leaf” and improves the livelihoods of Amazonian farming families through its supply chain. When brewed, guayusa has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, double the polyphenols of leading green tea products, and a smooth, clean taste.

Revered by indigenous communities for centuries, guayusa is also consumed by native hunters before venturing in to the jungle at night. Made from a tree, not from a lab, Runa is “clean energy” that powers you through your day. Runa supports over 3,000 farming families and is pioneering a new way of doing business in the Amazon. Runa’s products are sold in more than 6,000 stores across the country, and are an effective alternative to the legions of artificial beverages and energy drinks on the market. The journey continues at www.runa.org.

About Runa Foundation 501c3
Runa Foundation works with Amazonian communities to improve livelihoods and protect the Amazon rainforest. While a million acres of rainforest are destroyed every year to meet the global demand for precious hardwoods, sugar, cattle, and agricultural commodities, this exploitation does not benefit the farming families whose land and culture is being destroyed. Runa Foundation provides sustainable land management training, community development support and business development services to indigenous communities so that they can work toward their vision of sustainable development in the Amazon. The mission continues at http://www.fundacionruna.org/.

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