# Tomás Froes

> Tomás Froes is the Portuguese founder and CEO of kencko, a food company built around freeze-dried fruit and vegetable products. His career has crossed China, Portugal and the United States, from an artisan hot-dog chain and a packaged-food business acquired by Dr. Oetker to a vertically integrated consumer brand. When a neighboring fire destroyed kencko's only factory in November 2023, Froes moved from shock to execution: the team reviewed 30 sites in two weeks and signed a new lease in the third.

- **Role:** Founder and CEO at kencko
- **Organizations:** kencko, Scioko, FROSTIMO, Techstars, Siemens, All Hands Volunteers
- **Nationality:** Portuguese
- **Education:** BA, Marketing Management, Higher Institute of Business Communication (ISCEM), MSc, International Management, ISCTE Business School, MSc, Management (joint program with emlyon business school and Zhejiang University), Babson College - F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Built kencko from kitchen prototypes into a vertically integrated food company serving the United States and Europe., Led kencko through a $3.4 million seed round in 2019 and a $10 million Series A announced in 2022., Reported more than 10 million smoothies shipped in 2021 and nearly 360,000 members by the end of that year.

## Career timeline

- **2010** — Started his first food company in China, an artisan hot-dog chain.
- **2011-2015** — Built food ventures in China; the hot-dog concept pivoted to Portuguese custard tarts in hypermarkets, and a later packaged-food company was acquired by Dr. Oetker.
- **2015** — Began developing shelf-stable fruit-and-vegetable prototypes and testing them with friends.
- **2016** — Incorporated kencko near the end of the year.
- **2017** — Established kencko in the United States and began building its pre-launch community.
- **2018** — Ran a U.S. beta with more than 1,000 participants and joined Techstars London.
- **2019** — Kencko raised a $3.4 million seed round and expanded its direct-to-consumer operation.
- **2021** — Kencko shipped more than 10 million smoothies during the year and reported nearly 360,000 members.
- **2022** — Kencko announced a $10 million Series A led by Siddhi Capital to expand products, manufacturing and supply-chain capacity.
- **2023** — A neighboring fire destroyed kencko's only factory; the team visited 30 sites in two weeks and signed a new lease in week three.
- **2025** — Outlined plans to expand kencko across online, retail, office, restaurant and coffee-shop channels in North America, Europe, South America and Asia.

## Achievements

- Built kencko from kitchen prototypes into a vertically integrated food company serving the United States and Europe.
- Led kencko through a $3.4 million seed round in 2019 and a $10 million Series A announced in 2022.
- Reported more than 10 million smoothies shipped in 2021 and nearly 360,000 members by the end of that year.
- Secured a replacement factory lease three weeks after kencko's only manufacturing facility was destroyed by fire.
- Previously built food businesses in China, including one acquired by Dr. Oetker.
- Guided kencko through Techstars London and later served as a Techstars mentor.

## Latest updates

- **2025-09** — In an Indico Capital Partners interview, Froes described the factory fire as kencko's most crucial moment and set out a 12-to-36-month plan for broader channel and geographic expansion.
- **2024-12** — Inc. detailed kencko's recovery after the 2023 fire, including the search across 30 factory sites and a replacement lease signed in three weeks.
- **2024-05** — Froes wrote publicly that kencko had delivered more than 100 million servings of fruits and vegetables over almost eight years.

## Links

- Website: https://kencko.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tbfroes

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/tomas-froes
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27