Happy Viking recently announced a milestone investment round backed by some of the world's top professional athletes. Financing was led by Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman's 35V, Peloton Vice president of fitness programming and global wellness expert Robin Arzón, professional golfer Michelle Wie West, soccer champion and Medal of Freedom recipient Megan Rapinoe, tennis star Reilly Opelka, and basketball phenoms Isaiah Hartenstein and Collin Sexton. Mates, Talent Resources Ventures, Parallel, and Oliver Trevena are joining as additional investors.
On top of helping scale brand awareness, the investors' support will enable the Happy Viking team to further communicate the benefits of plant-based superfoods and expand their existing portfolio with new product innovations.
Tennis champion turned entrepreneur, Venus Williams, started Happy Viking after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in 2011. After exploring plant-based superfood nutrition, Venus discovered positive changes to her mind, body and performance. She then set out to create Happy Viking to help others experience the same benefits.
“When I was diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome, I became obsessed with doing research and exploring superfood ingredients that helped with my recovery. I would experiment with different recipes until I found a combination that tasted great, improved my health and allowed me to get back to tennis. I've seen first-hand what the benefits of adopting a plant-based diet has done for my body and performance. With Happy Viking, I want to give everyone the opportunity to be healthy, feel good, and live their dreams. I'm so excited to have these other world-class athletes on board to support our mission!” she says.
Neel Premkumar, founder and CEO of Dyla Brands, co-founded Happy Viking with Venus Williams. He and Williams have quickly seen overwhelming support for the brand from thousands of customers, directly connected to the brand's mission of inspiring better health and nutrition.
