Kekoa Foods

Kekoa Foods is expanding its nutritious baby food into hundreds of retail stores nationwide and turned to Wayflyer as a financing partner to fuel that growth.

Challenge

Kekoa Foods was founded by two passionate dads, David and Danny, who strive to provide the best possible nutrition for children during their early developmental years. The catalyst for starting Kekoa Foods was the birth of their son, whose middle name is Kekoa, meaning "brave warrior" in Hawaiian. Having been born 8 weeks prematurely, David and Danny nurtured him with carefully-prepared, nutrient-rich, organic meals.

The experience brought to light an unmet need in the marketplace, inspiring them to create their organic baby food brand. After a successful launch in Sprouts Farmers Market, their retail expansion gathered momentum. As POs rolled in from retailers, Kekoa Foods needed to ensure enough product was available to stock the shelves, causing cashflow headaches. This came to a head when a big-box retailer requested they stock all seven of their products nationwide, leading the brand to turn to Wayflyer for financing.

"We need to have the product created before a PO comes in. It's stressful to be fronting all of the funds for production and not receive money until it's on the shelves. Wayflyer helped bridge that financial gap."
David Fullner, Co-founder and CEO, Kekoa Foods

Solution

Kekoa's products can take 6-8 weeks to produce, but retail partners expect to be supplied in days. That's where Wayflyer's Wholesale Financing comes in. It helps Kekoa ensure that products are ready to ship as soon as a PO is received, without putting a strain on their cashflow.

Unlike traditional options like invoice factoring and PO financing, which are tied to specific orders, Kekoa can access ongoing financing from Wayflyer. This is a major unlock for their cash flow, allowing them to start production long before a PO arrives.

"Everyone at Wayflyer was super personable. They wanted to make sure our brand succeeded and worked to find the right financing terms for our company."

Results

Kekoa's growth has been nothing short of extraordinary. A year ago, they were in 1 store, and today they're in nearly 800 stores across the United States.

David and Danny are on a mission to bring their nutritious baby food to infants around the world. With Wayflyer as a financing partner, they hope to double their store footprint by this time next year. Here's to 800 more stores!

We will hopefully be in another 800 stores by this time next year. Wayflyer is going to be a huge component of that expansion.