Axum Capital backs Kevin Hart's VitaHustle in growth equity round
What's the deal? Axum Capital PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Charlotte-based private equity firm, has made a growth equity investment in VitaHustleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — the plant-based nutrition brand co-founded by comedian and entrepreneur Kevin Hart and his longtime personal trainer Ron "Boss" Everline. The specific deal size was not disclosed.
Axum, founded in 2010 by Charles Williams, is one of the few Black-owned private equity firms operating in food and beverage at meaningful scale. It targets health and wellness brands with $3M–$15M in EBITDA and under $250M in revenue.
VitaHustle sells an all-in-one daily nutrition shake combining 20 grams of plant-based protein, 86 superfood nutrients, vitamins, probiotics, and adaptogens in a single scoop. It is available at Walmart locations nationwide, through iHerb across more than 180 countries, and on QVC.
Why now? The functional nutrition and protein supplement market is booming. Allied Market Research estimated the global protein supplement market at $21.5B in 2023 and projected it to reach $36B by 2032. Plant-based protein is growing faster than the overall category, driven by consumers who prefer cleaner ingredient profiles regardless of dietary identity.
Axum has been on an active dealmaking streak, investing in Clean JuiceDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in April 2026 and Le BotanisteDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in September 2025. VitaHustle fits squarely in its sweet spot of established, fast-growing wellness brands where operational expertise and distribution connections can accelerate growth.
What could go wrong? Celebrity-driven consumer brands carry concentration risk — their fortunes are tied to the founder's public image. Hart's wellness portfolio is broad (his Hartbeat Ventures has backed Function Health, SweatPals, and Palta), but VitaHustle's marketing still leans heavily on his personal brand.
The plant-based nutrition space is also increasingly crowded, with major CPG players and well-funded startups competing for the same shelf space and consumer attention.
The signal: VitaHustle is still in its early growth stage, according to Dealroom, which makes the backing of a sector-specialist PE firm like Axum particularly meaningful — it suggests the brand has hit enough operational milestones to attract institutional capital but still has significant room to scale. Axum's recent cluster of deals in wellness-oriented food and beverage (Clean Juice, Le Botaniste, and now VitaHustle) points to a deliberate portfolio strategy built around the bet that health-conscious consumer brands with strong retail footholds are undervalued relative to their growth potential.
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