Serena Williams Invests in Vegan Smoothie Brand

This month, actress Gwyneth Paltrow and tennis star Serena Williams invested an undisclosed sum into plant-based company Daily Harvest. The company specializes in ready-to-blend fruit and vegetable smoothie packages—enhanced by “superfood” ingredients such as raw nuts, avocado, maca root, and turmeric—that are frozen and delivered to subscribers. “Something that’s true of all our investors is that they truly believed in what Daily Harvest stands for,” the company’s CEO Rachel Drori tells VegNews. “They believe that natural, unprocessed, nutritious foods should be more accessible, and they understand the gap in the market that we are filling.” Drori says that she plans to use the new capital to hire a “killer team” and continue to develop new products. In addition to smoothies, the company recently launched chia parfaits, overnight oats, and three soups: curry, ramen, and minestrone. Daily Harvest joins a growing number of plant-based companies that have attracted celebrity investors, including Leonardo DiCaprio-backed chickpea snack brand HIPPEAS.