From a home kitchen to international recognition for best vegan product

In 2019, two energetic young people Edgars Kravalis and Laura Atelsone decided to start something new and bold in Latvia: create a functional food company focused on the superfood of superfoods – kale. Since then, the company has opened a new production facility, successfully started exporting and gained international recognition for its products.

The first steps towards the business began rather unwittingly: with Edgars and Laura enthusiastically concocting culinary experiments in an apartment kitchen in down-town Riga. Their very first products – prototypes for pesto and kale chips – were hand-made from kale they had grown themselves in Madona District. Friends and acquaintances highly appreciated the taste and quality, which motivated the couple to start selling their products at the Kalnciems Quarter artisan market. Customer interest was so high that the budding idea was transformed into a company – KALE Latvia Organic. 

Kale: a traditional food in new form

Kale, or leaf cabbage, has a long history in Latvia; it has been grown here since the 15th century, and KALE Latvia Organic has re-imagined it in a new way. The company motto “Ancient traditions in modern form” is an excellent reflection of this approach as they combine Latvian traditions with modern technologies. Today, the company is collaborating with organic farms to procure top quality ingredients.

All of the company’s products are made with thorough care for quality and health, using organic ingredients and low levels of salt, sugar and fat. The dehydrating process at a temperature of 42°C results in up to 95% of nutrients being retained in the product thus ensuring a high content of vitamins and minerals.

The company’s product range includes more than 16 different products, all made from kale. For example:

• Kale chips: a vegan, gluten-free product rich in vitamins K, C and A, containing protein, fibre and selenium. Dehydrated at a low temperature without adding oil, this is a healthy snacking alternative to regular chips.
• Kale kimchi: a Latvian take on the traditional South Korean national dish. The product is based on fermented leaf cabbage matured in barrels for several months, retaining its intense taste and density of nutrients. Kale kimchi is a unique product, quite possibly the only of its kind in the world; it is extremely rich in lactobacteria and probiotics.
• Kale pesto: a special recipe combining leaf cabbage, almonds, and olive oil. For three years, the company worked on getting the taste just right to create an excellent and healthy product.

Best new vegan product award

In 2023, at the Natural & Organic Innovation Awards in London, the company received the award for best new vegan product. This recognition has helped KALE Latvia Organic secure its market position in the UK where the vegan lifestyle has been becoming increasingly popular in recent years.

To continue its development, this year the company has invested private funds and attracted additional investments through a loan on the SmeGo non-banking financial platform. These funds, totalling EUR 1.15 million, will be used to build a new production facility. Overall, since its foundation in 2019, KALE Latvia Organic has invested more than EUR 2 million in its development. The company estimates that this will allow them to increase their production volumes fivefold and expand their exports; KALE Latvia Organic is looking to grow its export market to more than 15 countries over the course of the next couple of years.

The company’s ambitious plans are already gradually being brought to life through modern financing methods for developing exports. Since November 2024, the company has been running the AS KALE SPACE campaign on crowededhero.com, a crowd funding platform based and licensed in Latvia, where, through the sale of company shares, it aims to collect EUR 750,000 to finance extensive development plans in 2025-2028, achieve a fivefold increase in turnover, upgrade the production line, streamline manual work, and secure exports to more than 20 European countries. The company also plans to set up automated production processes to attain 100% production capacity, an annual turnover of at least EUR 2.6 million and the leading position in the kale product segment in Europe.  Anyone can become a shareholder of AS KALE SPACE and be part of this innovative, green and healthy project in Latvia.