When Lisa Curtis joined the Peace Corps at 22, she didn’t expect to launch a company that would redefine the American superfood aisle. She just wanted to feel better. Living in a remote African village in Niger and surviving mostly on carbs, Lisa found herself depleted. When she asked the women in her village what could help, they pulled leaves from a tree and stirred them into a local snack called “kuli kuli.” That tree was Moringa. And it changed everything.

The energy boost was undeniable. But what stuck with her even more was the untapped potential of the plant and the communities who had used it for generations. She came back to the United States with $2,000 and a goal to introduce Moringa to American consumers while creating real income for the women who had first introduced her to it.

That vision became Kuli Kuli, the first Moringa brand in the U.S. Today, it's sold in more than 11,000 retail locations including Target, Whole Foods, Walmart, and Sprouts. Lisa has raised over $11.5 million in venture funding, built a diverse supply chain, and grown Kuli Kuli into a global superfood company. But the road to scaling wasn’t straight.

Farmers Markets, Hustle, & Data

The launch wasn’t glamorous. Lisa and a few friends spent Saturdays hand-making Moringa bars in a commercial kitchen. Sundays were spent selling them at farmers markets and gathering feedback. They treated every weekend like a live focus group. They tracked who sampled what, what they liked, and how often they converted into buyers. Lisa remembered, “We were pretty clear. We didn’t want to sell at farmers markets. The goal was to understand if this product had a real market at all.”

That scrappy research worked. Armed with conversion data showing that 16 to 20 percent of samplers made a purchase, she pitched the product to Whole Foods Northern California. As luck would have it, the buyer had recently seen Moringa featured on Dr. Oz and was already interested. The deal came together quickly. “Is this how it works?” Lisa remembers thinking. “Are all of my sales meetings gonna be this easy?” They weren’t. But it was the start of something real.

A Fire, A Pivot, and a Big Break

When Whole Foods agreed to roll Kuli Kuli out nationwide, it felt like a dream. But just weeks later, disaster struck. Their sole supplier, a women’s farming cooperative in Ghana, lost their entire farm to a wildfire. For a moment, the future of the company was in question. “I had fixated on sourcing from women farmers in Africa. And suddenly, that wasn’t an option,” Lisa said. They had to revisit the core mission. It wasn’t about one geography. It was about working with small farmers who grew sustainable crops. That led them to a family farm in Nicaragua that happened to grow high-quality Moringa. They made the national launch happen just in time.

That shift taught them the value of a flexible supply chain. It also helped them scale more sustainably. “That was the thing that kicked us up from a couple hundred thousand dollars a year to a multi-million dollar business.”

Creating Category Demand

In the early days, educating consumers was a full-time job. Kuli Kuli ran hundreds of demos each year just in Whole Foods. They set up activations at yoga events, handed out samples, and shared the health benefits of Moringa. Even now, Lisa says, “Moringa is still new to a lot of Americans. They have no idea what it is.”

What surprised the team was how much the product resonated with immigrant communities. “We hear all the time, ‘My grandmother has a Moringa tree in Mexico’ or ‘My mom puts that in sambar.’” These cultural connections gave the brand an unexpected boost at retailers like Walmart, where a superfood like Moringa might otherwise seem out of place.

Kuli Kuli used these insights to fine-tune their messaging. They led with health benefits but reinforced their mission through packaging and storytelling. “What we want is for people to buy us for the benefit and stay for the social impact,” Lisa explained.

That mission now includes planting millions of trees annually and packaging made from upcycled plastic bottles. These stories create what she calls “a level of virality” that sets the brand apart.

When to Rebrand

Ten years in, it was time for a glow-up. Kuli Kuli had expanded well beyond Moringa. Their lineup included Baobab, Hibiscus, Lucuma, and other climate-smart ingredients. But their packaging still said “Moringa brand.”

“We are 60 percent of the Moringa market in the U.S. and the largest Moringa company in the world. But half our product line doesn’t have Moringa in it,” Lisa said. They needed to evolve.

So they did. The full rebrand included a new logo, updated visual identity, and packaging that positioned Kuli Kuli as a superfood platform, not just a single-ingredient brand. It took over a year to execute. And it wasn’t without its frustrations. Lisa recalled catching a grammar mistake on a label after tens of thousands of units had already been printed.

Despite the bumps, the rebrand helped unlock national distribution with Target. It made the brand easier to scale. And it gave consumers a clearer sense of what Kuli Kuli stands for today.

Moving Product, Not Just Making It

Getting into a store is one thing. Getting off the shelf is another. Lisa says the single highest return tactic is getting an off-shelf display. “Nothing drives more sales,” she said.

Once they have retail placement secured, the team layers in digital ads, influencer campaigns, and email to amplify the moment. They’ll even send creators into stores to film “shop with me” videos. “You need that top-of-funnel digital push to support what’s happening in-store.”

Despite being in more than 11,000 locations, Kuli Kuli runs lean. At the time of this interview, the entire company had just 10 employees. Yet they still manage influencer marketing, paid ads, PR, and retail sell-through—proof that small teams can do big things when the mission and operations are aligned.

Raising Capital with Proof, Not Potential

Lisa’s first $500,000 raise took nearly a year. She was young, inexperienced, and pitching a product no one had heard of. “There was a lot of, ‘That’s cute, little girl. Good luck,’ and not a lot of writing checks,” she said.

Once they landed Whole Foods, everything changed. She raised another $500,000 in three months. Then came Series A, where multiple firms competed to lead the round. Kellogg’s venture arm ultimately came in as the lead investor. They’ve supported Kuli Kuli strategically ever since.

Lisa’s favorite part of raising capital wasn’t just the funding—it was the learning. “I know I shouldn't say it, but I actually like fundraising,” she admitted. “It’s interesting to meet investors, tell your story, and find the right partners.”

The Series B focused on expansion beyond Moringa. By then, they had crossed $5 million in revenue and proved they could build more than one hero product. The vision was coming into focus.

The Long View: Food Systems at Scale

Kuli Kuli isn’t just trying to sell more bars and powders. They’re trying to change how people eat. “Rice, corn, soy, wheat—these are not the most nutritious or climate-resilient crops,” Lisa said. “We believe our food system needs to change. And we want to play a role in that.”

Over the next 24 months, the company expects to double in size. They’re focused on distribution, not just innovation. But the long-term vision is clear. Kuli Kuli wants to be in every pantry in America, offering “nutrition you can feel”—and miss when it’s gone. “We want people to feel the absence of us.” That’s how Lisa thinks about Kuli Kuli’s role in customers’ lives. When something is that integrated, it’s not just a brand. It’s a habit. And for founders, that’s the goal.