Kombo King, a food tech startup based in Cape Town, has received an undisclosed amount of funding from The Vumela Fund, a joint venture between FNB Business and Edge Development.
“Consumer-centric product offerings are key to attracting customers in a highly competitive convenience food market. We view Kombo King fryers as an enabler to its clients to differentiate themselves in terms of quality, consistency, and speed of service while increasing the client’s value proposition,” said Vuyiswa Nzimande, Principal at Edge Growth and lead dealmaker.
What Kombo King Does
Kombo King is a South African kitchen equipment supplier that offers ventless fryer technology to the fried food niche market. It was founded in 2015 by Ari Jacobson and KK Combi.
In a press release, KK Combi, co-founder and chairman of Kombo Kitchen, discusses what inspired the foodtech startup’s growth.
“On a trip to Beijing, I realised the importance of speed to service customers on the move and in a small space. This planted a seed and triggered my desire to turn a dream into reality. Back home the ancient and hygienic way of frying created a foundation for new thinking. This brought on the advanced fryer technology that can now be seen in leading branded stores in South Africa. The many iterations of the fryer evolution had held my beady eye for ten years and when the opportunity came, we founded our business in 2015.”
When compared to conventional fryers, the revolutionary ventless fryer offers retail stores a cost-effective alternative. The fryer from Kombo King saves money on energy and oil while also saving room in the kitchen. Kombo King’s ventless fryers, designed and manufactured in South Africa, are said to improve the quality of food served in the value market.
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“I saw the need to take the open fryer out of fast-food retail. I felt the focus should shift to advanced fryer technology. My experience of driving a business opened the door to Pick n Pay where we tested the fryer in a live environment. This meant serving customers fried food in three minute.”
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer