The Vumela Fund, established by FNB Business and Edge Growth, has invested in Cape Town-based food tech startup Kombo King, a 100% black-controlled company that focuses on designing and producing smart controlled fast-food frying equipment.
Vuyiswa Nzimande, Principal at Edge Growth and lead dealmaker explains comments on the investment made into the foodtech startup.
“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.”
Kombo King
Founded in 2015 by Ari Jacobson and KK Combi, Kombo King is a South African kitchen equipment supplier and provides ventless fryer technology to the fried food niche market.
In a press statement, KK Combi, co-founder, and chairman of Kombo Kitchen provides insight into what inspired the creation of the foodtech startup.
“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.”
The innovative ventless fryer offers retail stores a cost-effective option when compared to traditional fryers. Kombo King’s fryer saves retails in electricity and oil costs alongside kitchen space. Created and manufactured in South Africa, Kombo King’s ventless fryers reportedly increase the quality of food provided in the value market.
Ari Jacobson, CEO of Kombo King’s explains what inspired the launch of the innovative ventless fryers.
“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 minutes.”
