KURO Investor Pitch Deck

🍜

KURO

Instant Ramen, Without The Junk

SAFE Note $1.5M Raise 2026

Blake Coppelson Founder

The Problem

A $62B market trapped in 1971

⚗️

Toxic Ingredients

MSG, seed oils, artificial flavors, and sodium levels that exceed 70% of daily intake per cup all standard in leading brands like Maruchan and Nissin.

🎨

Zero Brand Identity

Commodity packaging, no lifestyle positioning, zero cultural cachet. Gen Z and Millennial consumers have outgrown the neon plastic aesthetic of their childhood.

🏪

Premium Shelf Gap

Erewhon carries organic everything except a premium instant ramen. The $10–$18 per-meal price point is completely uncaptured in the ramen aisle.

📱

Social Media Void

No ramen brand commands a native social presence. Ramen content earns billions of views on TikTok & YouTube but zero brand owns the conversation.

Introducing KURO

Premium. Organic. Built for culture.

🖤

Black Garlic Tonkotsu

Rich, umami forward pork bone broth with organic black garlic. Sun Noodle crafted wavy noodle. Bold. Sophisticated.

FLAGSHIP SKU

🔥

Inferno

Gochugaru + habanero spice blend in a clean tonkotsu base. Flat, thick noodle. Heat that builds. The viral SKU.

VIRAL DRIVER

🌿

Shoyu Chicken

Organic soy-tare with free-range chicken broth. Thin, straight noodle. Clean, approachable. The everyday SKU.

EVERYDAY HERO

✓ Fully Organic ✓ No Seed Oils ✓ No MSG ✓ Non GMO ✓ Sun Noodle Co Pack ✓ Matte Black Premium Packaging

Market Opportunity

Massive TAM. Underserved premium segment.

$62.8B

Global Ramen Market 2026

Growing at 8.2% CAGR

$85B

Projected by 2030

7.9% CAGR through 2030

~$2B

US Premium Segment SAM

Largely uncaptured

Why Now?

📈 Post-COVID "comfort food premium" trend accelerating
🛒 Erewhon, Whole Foods, Sprouts actively seeking premium ramen
📱 Ramen content = 50B+ TikTok views no brand owns it
🌱 Clean label demand up 31% YoY in Asian-inspired foods

Competitive Comp

🍜 Immi raised $3.8M seed → $10M Series A (plant based ramen)
💧 OLIPOP: $1.85B valuation clean label disruption playbook
🌮 Siete Foods: sold to PepsiCo for $1.2B clean ethnic food
🎯 KURO targets premium organic no direct competitor

Brand & Positioning

The Supreme of instant ramen.

🖤

Matte Black Aesthetic

Minimalist cup design. Zero clutter. Every element earns its place. Shelf presence that commands attention the only black cup in a sea of red and yellow.

🌾

Organic First

USDA Certified Organic positioning. Clean ingredients front and center. Built for Erewhon before it's built for Walmart. Reverse distribution strategy prestige first.

📱

Culture First Launch

Partner with creators before retail. Drops, collabs, and scarcity mechanics. TikTok native brand architecture. The product is the marketing.

"Instant ramen, without the junk."

Brand Premium95%

Clean Ingredients100%

Social Virality Potential90%

Retail Differentiation98%

RETAIL TARGET PROGRESSION

Erewhon

Month 6

→

Sprouts

Month 12

→

Whole Foods

Month 18

→

Target

Year 3

Go To Market Strategy

Creator first → Erewhon → National retail

Phase 1 · Months 1–3

Seed the Culture

• DTC launch at kuroramen.com
• Send samples to 50 top food creators
• Owen Han partnership activation
• TikTok/Instagram organic content

Phase 2 · Months 4–6

Prestige Retail

• Erewhon placement (all 10 LA locations)
• Erewhon smoothie collab (paid)
• Steve Aoki co branded limited drop
• PR & editorial coverage push

Phase 3 · Months 7–12

Scale & Validate

• Sprouts Farmers Market rollout
• David Chang advisor announcement
• Subscription DTC model launch
• Amazon Premium Foods listing

Phase 4 · Year 2–3

National Expansion

• Whole Foods national 500+ doors
• Series A raise for scale
• Limited collab drops (chef series)
• Target / Walmart premium aisle

Key Unfair Advantages: 🎵 Music/culture network (Anyma, Aoki) 📱 Proximity YouTube + social reach 🤝 Erewhon collab playbook 🍜 Sun Noodle production partner

Traction & Roadmap

Where we are. Where we're going.

Done ✓

Brand, Website & Packaging Developed kuroramen.com live, 3 SKU packaging finalized, matte black identity locked

Done ✓

Sun Noodle Partnership Initiated LA based co pack relationship underway with the noodle supplier behind Momofuku and top ramen shops

Month 2

First Production Run 500 Units 3 flavor sample run, USDA organic certification filing, final nutrition panel submission

Month 4

Steve Aoki Investor/Advisor Secured Celebrity co sign announcement, limited drop collab, cultural credibility unlocked

Month 6

Erewhon Placement + $250K DTC Revenue All 10 LA Erewhon doors, paid Erewhon smoothie collab live, 5,000+ DTC orders shipped

Month 18

Series A Ready $2M+ ARR Sprouts + Whole Foods pipeline, $2M+ trailing revenue, raise $5–10M Series A

Financial Projections

Conservative 3 year model. Validated by comp data.

Year 1 (2026)

$500K

Revenue

DTC + Erewhon

~5,000 units / mo by Q4

Year 2 (2027)

$2.2M

Revenue

+ Sprouts + Whole Foods

200+ retail doors

Year 3 (2028)

$7M

Revenue

+ Target + Amazon scale

1,000+ retail doors

Unit Economics

MSRP (single cup)$7.99 – $9.99

COGS (co pack + ingredients)~$2.80

Gross Margin (DTC)~65%

Gross Margin (Wholesale)~42%

LTV (subscription customer)$280

Use of $1.5M Seed

Production (3 SKUs, 3 runs)$400K 27%

Brand & Marketing$350K 23%

Retail Expansion$250K 17%

Team & Operations$300K 20%

Working Capital Reserve$200K 13%

The Raise

Seed Round · 2026

Raising

$1.5M

Standard SAFE

Pre Money Valuation

$6M

Pre Money

Instrument

20%

Investor Equity

Valuation Rationale

• Immi raised at ~$7.4M est. valuation on $2.3M revenue
• KURO pre-revenue but brand + team justify brand premium
• Celebrity advisor/investor co signs add strategic value
• $6M pre money = 4x Year 1 revenue exit multiple floor
• Seed CPG valuations avg $4 to 8M post-money in 2025–26

Investor Return Scenario

• Series A at $20M valuation (3×) → seed 3× return
• Acquisition at $50M (Siete/OLIPOP comp) → 10× return
• Immi comparables: $14M raised → $40M+ est. exit value
• 18 month path to Series A ready ($2M+ ARR milestone)
• Strategic exit potential: PepsiCo, Nestlé, Nissin, Unilever

Target Team Roadmap

Phased outreach · Weeks 1 to 22

Phase

Weeks

Person

Role

Background

Equity

1

1–3

Brand build

Internal

Packaging, website, DTC setup, Sun Noodle outreach

—

2

4–6

Steve Aoki

DJ / Entrepreneur

Cultural anchor / co-founder

Grammy nominated DJ with $120M net worth. Son of Benihana founder Rocky Aoki — food is in his DNA. Early stage investor (Uber, SpaceX). Massive crossover audience spanning music, gaming, and food culture.

5–7%

3

7–10

Brandon Jew

Chef / Restaurateur

Product lead / co-founder

James Beard Award winner. Founder of Mister Jiu's in San Francisco. Chinese American chef who brings culinary authenticity, clean ingredient credibility, and the cultural authority KURO needs from a product lead.

10–15%

4

11–14

David Chang

Chef / Founder

Industry titan / co-founder

Founded Momofuku in 2004, defining premium ramen in America. Multiple James Beard Awards. Host of Ugly Delicious (Netflix). His name on KURO is the single most powerful credibility signal in the entire category.

15–20%

5

15–18

Marguerite Mariscal

CEO, Momofuku

COO / operations

CEO of Momofuku since 2019 (started as intern in 2011). Granddaughter of Zabar's founder. Led Momofuku's full retail expansion and CPG product launch. Forbes 30 Under 30. The operational brain behind one of food's most complex empires.

8–10%

6

19–20

Owen Han

Creator

Content / creative partner

4.3M TikTok followers. Known as the King of Sandwiches. Chinese Italian first gen creator with authentic reach into Gen Z food culture. Brand partner for Tillamook and Kaiser. His content style is exactly the aesthetic KURO needs to own the feed.

3%

7

20–22

Emily Elyse Miller

Founder, OffLimits

Advisory

Founder and CEO of OffLimits cereal, a culture-first better for you CPG brand. Author of Breakfast: The Cookbook (Phaidon). Built a character driven, counterculture food brand from scratch — a direct playbook for KURO's DTC and retail launch strategy.

5%

Total equity reserved for team and advisors: 46–60% (targets) · Blake retains founder majority All figures subject to negotiation

Why KURO. Why Now.

The window is open. And we're built for it.

📈

8.2%

Ramen market CAGR 2026

Category accelerating

🏆

Zero

Premium organic ramen brands

No direct competitor

🌎

50B+

TikTok ramen views

No brand owns the feed

Culture Access: Blake's network spans EDM's biggest names (Anyma, Deeper Purpose), YouTube creators, and LA's luxury lifestyle scene the exact consumers who made OLIPOP a $1.85B brand.

Operational Infrastructure: Sun Noodle co pack partnership means we can scale without building a factory. Proven co packer used by Momofuku and every top ramen shop in LA.

Timing: Immi proved the market exists ($14M raised, growing rapidly). KURO captures the premium segment Immi left behind organic, full-flavor, culturally resonant.

🍜

KURO

Instant ramen, without the junk.

Raising

$1.5M SAFE

Pre Money Val.

$6M

Instrument

YC SAFE

Contact

Blake Coppelson Founder

[email protected] · (818) 305-4133

Confidential · For Accredited Investors Only