We identify and empower emerging food and beverage brands by

investing in EARLY STAGE innovators

Through strategic investments and mentorship, we aim to inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs, transforming the global food landscape with flavors that celebrate Asian heritage and community.

View Our Portfolio

We don’t just invest, as experienced operators in Asia and North America we support founders with our expertise to navigate the challenges of manufacturing, logistics and marketing in the US market.

Our Story

Decades of Operational Excellence in Global Markets

We lived and worked in SE Asia and China most of our lives; so when we returned to America we were struck by the paucity of truly authentic Asian food, especially in convenience food and beverage. Copra LLC was founded in 2018 with the objective to identify promising and underdeveloped Asian food and beverage brands that we enable as they entered the US market; with a focus on the Natural Foods industry.

Our goal as early stage investors is to leverage our keen understanding of Asian and North American tastes to find areas of intersection to exploit. We don’t just invest, as experienced operators in Asia and North America we support founders with our expertise to navigate the challenges of manufacturing, logistics and marketing in the US market. We are proud of our track record and portfolio and thrilled that we are a player in enabling the rapid growth of Asian heritage categories in US retail.

Our Portfolio

High-Growth Brands

Beverages

Logo with a cartoon face featuring glasses and wild hair above a green banner with the word "GENIUS" in bold white letters.
Logo for Copra Coconuts featuring a circular icon with a leaf inside and the text 'COPRA COCONUTS' below.

Snacks

Cartoon character of a smiling person wearing a red hooded jacket with a white scarf, with small blush marks on cheeks, and text reading 'TAO KAE NOI USA INC' at the bottom.
Logo for Nora Seaweed Snacks with the brand name in large red letters and 'seaweed snacks' written below in smaller red font.

Services

Logo with a hand icon clicking and the word "Tappy" in blue with an underline.
Close-up of the Pac-Man logo with a speech bubble and a registered trademark symbol.

Through strategic investments and mentorship, we aim to inspire a new generation of entrepreneurs, transforming the global food landscape with flavors that celebrate Asian heritage and community.

Leadership

Guided by Decades of Hands-on Expertise

Multinational Board Leadership

Public companies across 6 countries

32+ Years Experience

Food & beverage industry in US and Asia

Former CEO, PepsiCo Asia

Led Frito-Lay's Asian market expansion

Angel Investor

Active in Asian heritage food & beverage

A bald man wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and red tie smiling outdoors with green trees in the background.

Tim Minges

Founder

Tim founded Copra LLC after retiring from a 32 year career in the food and beverage industry across the US and Asia. Tim’s experience runs the gamut from start-ups to scale operating general management roles. Tim and his family moved to Thailand in 1994 to start Frito-Lay in Asia, a journey that lasted 20 years and spanned four countries culminating in his role as CEO of PepsiCo Asia.  Tim returned to the US in 2013 to become the Chief Customer and Transformation Officer of PepsiCo North American Beverages before he retired to pursue his interest in angel investing and non executive Board positions. Tim is an experienced BOD member with remits across continents as a member of public company boards in Thailand, Japan, Philippines, China, Switzerland and the USA.

A man in a tuxedo smiling outdoors with a wooden structure and green foliage in the background.

Ben Minges

Founder

Ben grew up in Asia and developed a deep affinity for its people culture and especially food. After graduating high school in Bangkok he attended the University of Puget Sound where he earned a degree in Business and Entreprenuership.

Ben founded and ran a successful Asian food start up that achieved $40M+ in annual revenues in just its first 12 years. Ben bootstrapped his business and learned the industry from ground up; thus providing our portfolio founders an excellent mentor; one who has been there and done that.

Ben has excellent relationships with all key US retailers and an extensive professional network from his days building his own successful company.

Our Approach

Strategic Capital Paired with Market Expertise

Invest & Enable

As early-stage investors, we provide the capital and strategic guidance emerging brands need. Our investment approach is hands-on, patient, and rooted in deep industry knowledge.

Identify & Discover

We leverage our keen understanding of Asian and North American palates to find areas of intersection — uncovering authentic brands with untapped potential in the US natural foods market.

Operate & Scale

From manufacturing and supply chain to retail distribution and marketing, we walk alongside founders through every challenge of scaling in the competitive US food and beverage landscape.

Get in Touch

Partner with Us & Scale Your Vision

Are you building an emerging Asian food or beverage brand? We'd love to hear your story. We're always looking for promising brands rooted in cultural authenticity with strong potential in the US natural foods market.

Our goal as early stage investors is to leverage our keen understanding of Asian and North American tastes to find areas of intersection.