UAE-based KBW Ventures, the venture capital (VC) firm founded by Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed, has participated in US-based startup gardening and organic food company Back to the Roots’ seed round. This round, led by the company’s current investors S2G Ventures and Acre Venture Partners, also saw participation from John Foraker and Fund Good Jobs.

Founded in 2009 by Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora, Back to the Roots looks to make gardening accessible to all growers of all types of experience and living environments. The company also offers a variety of "ready-to-grow"​ and "ready-to-eat"​ products that are sold at a wide variety of locations across the country.

The company plans to use the funds to scale up national distribution and marketing for the seed packet line, as well as support the continued growth of its small-space gardening kits. 

“There’s no better testimony on why KBW Ventures invested in Back to the Roots than the story of how I met Nikil and Alejandro. I was a customer; literally, I bought a few of their grow kits and I had posted about how great their products are on my Instagram story. Soon, through a dear friend Caroline Love, an introduction was made and this happened to coincide with their funding round. There is no greater sales pitch than a positive spirit, and enthusiastic hyper-qualified founders with a passion to do what they’re doing; and doing it super well judging by their numbers,” said Prince Khaled, founder of KBW Ventures. 

KBW Ventures focuses its investments on sustainability and plant-based innovation, with investments previously made in startups like BlueNalu, Memphis Meats, and Rebellyous Foods.