Axum Capital backs VitaHustle as plant-protein competition heats up

Axum Capital Partners has taken an equity stake in VitaHustle, a move that says as much about the market as it does about the brand. Even as plant-based food faces tougher competition and more skeptical shoppers, investors are still writing checks for companies that can sell plant protein as part of a broader functional-wellness routine.

VitaHustle said the capital will support its next phase of growth through Axum’s Axum Edge platform, which is meant to strengthen brand awareness, operations and access to new market and revenue opportunities. That matters because VitaHustle is not selling protein powder in the old bodybuilding sense. It is pitching convenience, satiety and daily nutrition in one shake, a format that fits the way many consumers now shop for wellness.

The brand’s flagship product, VitaHustle One, contains 20 grams of plant protein, 4 grams of fiber and multivitamins. VitaHustle also sells a protein-and-creatine version with 30 grams of plant protein and 5 grams of creatine. Those formulas show where the category has moved: protein alone is no longer enough, and brands are stacking ingredients that speak to recovery, fullness and broader nutritional utility.

The company’s back story also helps explain why Axum may have leaned in. VitaHustle was co-founded by Kevin Hart and his trainer and business partner Ron Everline, giving it built-in cultural reach before a consumer ever tastes the product. Co-founder Muhsin Muhammad, a former NFL wide receiver, has framed the investment as part of a wider shift in which better-for-you food and beverage sits closer to health and lifestyle, not just diet culture. That sports-and-performance lens gives VitaHustle credibility with athletes and everyday shoppers alike.

The deal suggests capital is still available for brands that can bridge celebrity, practical nutrition and repeat purchase potential. In a cooling plant-based market, that is the real filter: investors appear willing to back businesses that can make plant protein feel useful, not ideological, and turn a shake into a habit rather than a niche purchase.