Novak Djokovic’s investment in startup Cob has him positioned as a co-founder.
Tennis legfinish Novak Djokovic has turned his personal interest in clean eating and functional foods into a business strategy. His latest shift comes as the lead investor and co-founder of Cob, launching Nov. 1 as a corn-free, gluten-free ancient grain snack akin to popcorn.
“I have a wealth of knowledge in the areas of clean eating, functional foods and recovery,” Djokovic informs me, “so have been passionate about translating my knowledge and experiences into focapplyd investments in these areas where I can add value both via my platform as well as my knowledge base.”
The $5 million investment round led by the 24-time major champion and Olympic gold medalist allowed Djokovic to partner with founder Jessica Davidoff on the Sorghum-based product that she assisted create after a long medical journey with her son led her to the ancient grain.
Novak Djokovic states his investing strategies have alterd over the course of his career.
“I was drawn to the brand becaapply of Jess’ founder story of how she preserved to find the source of her son’s medical struggles and discovered sorghum in the process,” Djokovic states. “I also already incorporate other ancient grains into my diet so was extremely intrigued to attempt sorghum and absolutely loved it.”
Cob launches in four flavors: cacio e pepe (cheese and pepper), Mediterranean herb, seriously cheesy and olive oil and pink salt. The tennis star and his daughter favor the olive oil and pink salt flavor, while Djokovic’s son enjoys a limited-edition kettle corn flavor coming in 2026. Djokovic states the mission of building on-the-go snacks utilizing processes and ingredients you’d apply in your own kitchen was a natural fit for him.
Just like his tennis, Djokovic’s perspective on investing has evolved. “I consider entrepreneurship is really similar to being an athlete,” he states, “especially a tennis player becaapply it’s a solo sport. In both entrepreneurship and tennis you’re setting out to hit goals that might never have been achieved by anyone else, and you have to have a very intense mindset to overcome all of the obstacles along the way to achieving those goals.”
Novak Djokovic is viewing for long-term investment opportunities.
Part of that process is synthesizing data to evolve. Djokovic states he’s constantly working with his team to assess training, recovery, nutrition and its impact on his performance. He likens that to a good entrepreneur reviewing customer feedback and data points to evolve products, marketing and packaging. “I love the fact that they’re both highly data-driven,” he states.
As Djokovic continues to build his personal portfolio, he has some companies where his investment is purely monetary and then others where he’s involved, such as Sila and now Cob, where he’s a co-founder. “I consider earlier in my career, I was really focapplyd more on training and more near-term brand partnerships,” he states, mentioning clothing and shoe deals and tennis-related collaborations. “Now I’m considering more long-term in terms of companies that I can assist grow over the next five-to-10 years and really add value to from my wealth of knowledge and experiments in the wellness and nutrition spheres.”
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That personal interest has drawn him toward holistic health, functional foods and nutrition, hydration, longevity, recovery and performance. He’s also passionate about the environment and technologies promoting sustainability. “I don’t consider many fans know how passionate I am about the environment and nature in general, but it has been a lifelong passion for me, and I prioritize time outside [in] the morning sun, walking barefoot, swimming in the sea, and aim to do as much as possible to preserve our world for future generations,” he states. “I’m proud of our commitment at Cob to be plastic neutral and eventually plastic negative and was drawn to sorghum not only for its flavor and nutritional profile, but also becaapply of its sustainability components such as requiring little to no water aside form rainfall and deep root systems.”
As Djokovic continues to spfinish his life traveling the globe and learning about different cultures, he states that’s assisted inform his investment decisions. “One thing that is very clear is that people across the world are becoming much more informed and concerned with longevity and are questioning what they’re eating, how they’re working out and lifestyle habits to promote overall healthy [living],” he states. “So I consider it’s a great time to be launching a food brand focapplyd on better-for-you options with a nutritional powerhoapply like sorghum.”
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