# Yumi Research Record

Accessed: 2026-06-19

Deck reviewed: `/Users/kevinweatherman/Downloads/D2C + Consumer/Yumi D2C Baby Food Brand.pdf`

Rendered slide contact sheet: `/Users/kevinweatherman/Documents/deck-review/output/research/yumi_contact_sheet.jpg`

## Current Status Overlay

| Signal | Current Read | Source Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Operating status | Active | Official site is live with catalog, cart, account flow, store locator, blog, and heavy-metal testing links. March 2026 PRNewswire says YUMI has more than 12,000 retail doors across Whole Foods, Walmart, and Target. |
| Headcount signal | Growth / rebuild signal, source-specific | LinkedIn lists 11-50 employees and 67 discoverable employees. Tracxn lists 66 employees as of Feb 28, 2026. LeadIQ estimates approximately 66 as of May 2026. LinkedIn shows a Head of Sales hiring post after scaling to 11,300+ retail doors. |
| Confidence | Medium-High | Active status is high confidence. Headcount is consistent around 66-67 across multiple sources, but LinkedIn's company-size band remains 11-50. |
| Funding / outcome | Major follow-on funding plus valuation reset | Public sources show $4.1M seed, $8M strategic round, $67M Series B, and about $79M total funding. Business Insider reported a 2024 down round around a $40M valuation after prior valuation above $300M. |
| Reference value | Strong but nuanced | Excellent benchmark for growth deck metrics, DTC-to-retail pivot, data/personalization moat, mission-driven brand, and women-led cap table. Use carefully because the 2024 down-round report complicates the "big funding equals success" narrative. |

## Company Snapshot

| Field | Data |
|---|---|
| Company | YUMI |
| Founded | 2017 per LinkedIn; some databases list 2015 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles in LinkedIn and historical sources; Inc 2026 lists Miami |
| Original deck category | DTC baby food and early childhood nutrition |
| Current public category | Organic snacks and functional foods for toddlers, kids, and families |
| Deck type | 37-page growth deck created in November 2020 |
| Founders | Angela Sutherland and Evelyn Rusli |
| Current leadership | Angela Sutherland and Evelyn Rusli are still named as co-founders / co-CEOs in 2024 and 2026 press releases |
| Public funding trail | $4.1M seed; $8M strategic round; $67M Series B; about $79M total public funding; 2024 down-round report |

## Executive Synthesis

Yumi is a strong training reference because the deck's thesis mostly maps to the public story that followed: the company raised a major Series B, expanded nationally, and turned early DTC personalization into a broader omnichannel nutrition brand. The company is still active and, by 2026, publicly says it has more than 12,000 retail doors across Whole Foods, Walmart, and Target.

The nuance is important. Business Insider reported in January 2024 that Yumi was raising a down round at about a $40M valuation after running low on cash, with 2023 revenue around $13M and a 2024 projection tied to Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Sprouts, and Meijer. That makes Yumi an excellent profile for teaching founders that large rounds and impressive ARR charts do not remove unit-economics, burn, channel, and inventory risk.

For founder deck feedback, Yumi is most useful where a company needs to show real operating depth: growth curves, CAC stability, contribution margin, community, market expansion, data personalization, sourcing risk, and why the original DTC data asset should translate into retail.

## Funding And Investor Notes

| Round / Event | Date | Amount | Investors / Notes | Source |
|---|---:|---:|---|---|
| Seed | 2017-06-13 | $4.1M | Brand Foundry, August Capital, NEA | Fortune snippet |
| Strategic round | 2019-12-10 | $8M | Founders / CEOs of Warby Parker, Sweetgreen, Uber, and more | The Spoon |
| Series B | 2021-12-20 | $67M | Jazz Venture Partners, AF Ventures, Anne Wojcicki led | Green Queen / Fast Company / Food Business News |
| Female-led SPV | 2021-12-20 | Part of Series B | More than 70 women investors or women-led firms | Food Business News |
| Public total after Series B | 2021-12 | About $79M | Multiple investors | Green Queen / Fast Company |
| Series unknown | 2023-03-09 | Unknown | Crunchbase module | LinkedIn |
| Down-round report | 2024-01-31 | Unknown amount; around $40M valuation | Undisclosed | Business Insider |

## Team And Founder-Market Fit

Angela Sutherland and Evelyn Rusli remain central to the profile. Sutherland brings private equity / Goldman-style financial discipline plus the parent problem insight. Rusli brings journalism and storytelling, which maps directly to the deck's education, trust, and content strategy. The team also brought credibility into nutrition through pediatric, public-health, and food-science advisors.

Current public team signals are stronger than most profiles in this batch: LinkedIn lists 67 discoverable employees, Tracxn and LeadIQ both list about 66, and Yumi's LinkedIn page shows active Head of Sales hiring tied to national retail expansion. That does not prove linear headcount growth, but it does support an active growth/rebuild signal.

## Strategic Arc

1. 2017: Seed funding and original DTC baby-food concept.
2. 2019: $8M strategic round and weekly subscription model with stage-specific meals.
3. 2020: Growth deck emphasizes ARR, CAC stability, community, margins, lifecycle TAM, data personalization, sourcing, content, and COVID risk.
4. 2021: $67M Series B validates the growth story and funds omnichannel distribution and new products.
5. 2024: Business Insider reports down-round pressure after heavy cash burn and a valuation reset.
6. 2024-2026: Yumi expands through Walmart and Whole Foods, with current positioning around organic bars, puffs, smoothie melts, and functional smoothies.
7. 2026: Official site remains active, Inc. highlights 45M nutrition bars sold, and public profiles show about 66-67 employees.

## Best Use In Founder Deck Feedback

Use Yumi as a reference when a founder deck needs:

- Growth-deck operating depth: ARR, meals sold, CAC, LTV, margins, and market expansion.
- A trust-heavy consumer product narrative where safety, testing, quality, and expert credibility matter.
- A clear DTC-to-retail arc that explains how first-party data and community can translate into national shelf space.
- A lifecycle/LTV story that expands from baby meals to toddlers, kids, snacks, and family nutrition.
- A data/personalization moat slide that needs sharper proof.
- A nuanced funding example: large Series B plus later down-round pressure.

Be careful recommending Yumi slides when:

- Retail growth is treated as pure upside without inventory, working capital, sell-through, and margin tradeoffs.
- "AI" or personalization claims are not tied to measurable recommendation quality or retention.
- Mission and impact claims are not paired with source-backed evidence and operational proof.
- Growth curves omit gross/net revenue, cohort retention, or channel mix.
- The user needs an uncomplicated "post-deck success" story; Yumi is a success-and-risk case.

## Slide-Level Reference Patterns

| Slide | Pattern | Feedback Use |
|---:|---|---|
| 4 | Current snapshot | Good status slide if metrics are legible and defined. |
| 8 | Trust-centered product platform | Useful for food, baby, health, or wellness categories. |
| 12-13 | Data and personalization moat | Strong ambition, but should show retention, recommendation, and privacy evidence. |
| 15-16 | ARR / meals / CAC growth | Excellent growth-deck pattern for traction and acquisition efficiency. |
| 20 | Operating metrics dashboard | Strong benchmark for founder pitch scoring. |
| 21 | Margin matrix | High-value unit-economics pattern. |
| 22 | Lifecycle TAM / LTV expansion | Useful when a brand expands beyond its first customer moment. |
| 28-30 | Competition, AI, quality | Good appendix trio for trust and defensibility. |
| 34 | Sourcing risk | Strong COVID-era operations slide. |

## Public-Research Implications For Scoring

- **Outcome score:** Strong for follow-on funding and current distribution; nuanced by 2024 down-round report.
- **Operating-status score:** Active with strong current evidence.
- **Headcount score:** Medium-positive / source-specific, around 66-67 people and active sales hiring.
- **Comparable strength:** Strong for DTC food, baby/kids nutrition, data personalization, omnichannel retail, and growth-stage operations.
- **Claim-quality score:** Mixed-positive. Many deck themes later validate publicly, but ARR, CAC, and margin claims need internal-data verification.
- **Founder feedback priority:** Require proof that DTC data, trust, and community actually improve retail sell-through and repeat purchase.

## Open Data Gaps

- Full Crunchbase/PitchBook round-by-round detail for 10 total Crunchbase rounds and any 2023 Series Unknown event.
- Exact amount and terms of the 2024 down round.
- Current revenue, gross margin, cash position, and retail sell-through.
- Current headcount by function and whether 66-67 is employees or discoverable profiles.
- Current split between DTC, Amazon, Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Costco, and other retail.
- Confirmation of how much original DTC personalization remains in the current shelf-stable retail model.

## Source List

See `yumi_sources.csv`, `yumi_investors.csv`, `yumi_timeline.csv`, `yumi_team.csv`, `yumi_news.csv`, `yumi_podcasts.csv`, and `yumi_competitive_context.csv`.