New funding to help Skoop’s expansion to other states

BOULDER — Skoop LLC, which makes nutrient-packed food powders, closed recently on a $1.1 million Series B funding round as the company branches out into more and more out-of-state retail markets.

The equity investment came from Seurat Capital, which has offices in New York and Connecticut.

Skoop raised $850,000 a year ago as the company was first entering retail distribution. But the company was focused squarely on Colorado at that time. Skoop’s powders are now sold in 170 stores in the state, with King Soopers and Whole Foods the largest among those.

Sales at King Soopers have been particularly strong, which has led other divisions of that store’s parent company Kroger to show interest. Much of the latest funding round, Skooper cofounder Greg Stroh said Thursday, will go toward ramping up inventory to enter new markets. Skoop also recently landed a deal with HyVee, which is starting to give the company a foothold in Midwest states such as Nebraska and Iowa.

“It’s because of the success we’ve been having here in Colorado,” Stroh said.

Stroh, a cofounder of Izze Beverage Co. before it was sold to Pepsi Co. in 2006, founded Skoop in 2012 with advertising veteran Alex Bogusky and naturopathic doctor James Rouse.

The company started with online sales only before entering retail last August. Stroh declined to disclose revenue, but said growth has been strong since. The company has grown from seven employees to 10 over the past year at its Boulder headquarters.

“I think the thing that’s encouraging is that we are exceeding expectations in King Soopers, and we’re showing early indications that things are going well at HyVee,” Stroh said. “And we’re really trying to ramp up our execution at Whole Foods.”

In addition to growing sales, Skoop helped found a nonprofit called Project Produce to which the company donates 3 percent of revenue to help schools fund programs that get more fruits and vegetables in front of kids and provides nutrition education. Fifty-seven schools in 27 states are now part of the program.

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