Urban Remedy CEO on scaling an ultra-fresh food business nationally

Paul Coletta, Urban Remedy CEO, joins Yahoo Finance to discuss the organic food company’s latest fundraising round and its ready-to-eat meals, juices, cleanses & snacks.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

ALEXIS CHRISTOPHOROUS: Welcome back. The California-based organic plant-based food company Urban Remedy has just closed an $18-million series D fundraising round as it looks to increase its reach nationwide. Joining me now is Urban Remedy's CEO, Paul Colletta. Paul, good to see you. So that's a lot of money you were just able to raise. Congratulations. Talk to us about who led that fundraising round and what you plan to do with the proceeds.

PAUL COLETTA: Yeah, so this was our series D, and it was led by [INAUDIBLE]. And we, as always, beyond capital are looking for partners and investors that have aligned values. And what we share with them is this commitment to improving human health through nutrition.

ALEXIS CHRISTOPHOROUS: So where can we find the products at the moment? Are they just online? Are they in stores? And how do you hope to expand there?

PAUL COLETTA: Yeah, so you can find them in 21 states today across the US. And if you go to our website, urbanremedy.com, we have a store locator. You can locate us mostly in groceries. We also have our own company-owned brick-and-mortar retail stores throughout California. Also, you can find those locations online. And then we ship anywhere in the US, next day, via UPS.

ALEXIS CHRISTOPHOROUS: And I know that your ingredients-- you're using fresh ingredients. And as wonderful as that is, I'm curious about the shelf life. What are you doing to make sure that these food products and these beverages will last in people's refrigerators?

PAUL COLETTA: Yeah, you just put your finger on the real challenge. And that's what we've been working at now for almost eight years. And that's, how do you scale an ultra-fresh food business nationally? And that comes down to a few things. That comes down to really understanding how to package the products, how to source the ingredients and convert that to a finished meal in as little time as possible.

It comes down to great systems. It comes down to great partners. And so cracking that code is the challenge. And 7 to 10 days of shelf life in the world of food is just an awesome challenge and one that, with this capital, I think, Urban Remedy is up to.

ALEXIS CHRISTOPHOROUS: All right. Well, we're curious to watch the story unfold there at Urban Remedy. CEO Paul Colletta, thanks so much for joining us.