Owen’s Craft Mixers has closed a $7.5 million funding round that includes singers Ryan Hurd and Lee Brice, ex-NHL star Mario Lemieux and strategic investment from the Mass Family Office.
How did Owen’s get here?
Launched by co-founders Josh Miller and Tyler Holland, New York-based Owen’s Craft Mixers offers a range of ready-to-drink cocktail mixers in glass bottles.
According to Miller, the company faced an existential crisis as the COVID-19 outbreak gripped the U.S. last spring, with nearly half its total business lost due to widespread closures in the on-premise channel. With its retail presence at the time limited to around 6,000 stores nationwide, Owen’s made a quick and hard pivot into brick-and-mortar stores and e-commerce. As of 2021, the brand is available for two-day shipping via Amazon Prime and sold in 14,000 retail stores in 44 states nationwide through liquor and beer distributors, with a further six states serviced via broadline providers. Among its key retail wins are national authorizations at CVS (7,500 stores, all five SKUs) and Kroger, as well as Shaws and Hannaford stores in the Northeast.
Owen’s has also cultivated a presence in spectator and participant sports, partnering with companies like Dallas-based golf course operator ClubCorp and Levy Restaurants, which operates over 200 sports and entertainment venues worldwide, to place products at their respective locations.
At the same time, the brand has been building awareness via its partnership with Barstool Sports, where it is the presenting partner of the golf-focused Fore Play podcast and the site’s official cocktail mixer. Last June, Owen’s and Barstool teamed to release a co-branded product, The Barstool Transfusion Mix in 8.5 oz. cans.
Who is investing in the company?
Having emerged intact and still growing after a challenging year, Miller said the time was right to “throw gasoline on the fire” with a new injection of capital. But beyond financing, he said the aim was also to recruit individuals with influence over “different categories of opportunity.” After bringing on investors with background in the hospitality industry on previous rounds — including Levy Restaurants head Larry Levy, who has re-upped again here — this new group of backers includes names from sports and entertainment like country singers Ryan Hurd and Lee Brice, pro hockey legend Mario Lemieux and Grammy Award-winner Darius Rucker. Fresh off the company’s sale to E. & J. Gallo Winery earlier this month, RumChata founders Tom and Charlie Mass have also joined on.
“What we wanted to do in this round is find people who have believed in this brand from the beginning but have influence over different categories of opportunity,” Miller said. “So bringing on those types of people were ones that we knew could strategically help accelerate our growth and our distribution as we generate massive brand awareness, but also velocity on the shelf.”
Owen’s has also brought new talent into the boardroom with the addition of three new directors: former Nestle executive and Noosa Yoghurt CEO Frank Higgins; Rudy Costello, ex-chief commercial officer at The Stoli Group; and Peter Abate, a longtime VP at E. & J. Gallo Winery.
“We brought on three very experienced people who not only have connections but it’s a great sounding board,” he said. “Up until now, it’s been Tyler and myself and our team trying to problem solve and come up with solutions. But the reality is I’ve only been doing this for five years and chances are there are people around us that can help us make more educated and calculated decisions that will ultimately lead to us becoming the number one brand overall in the category.”
How will the funding fuel the company’s growth?
During a call last week, Miller paused to pull up the company’s latest performance numbers: 454% growth year-to-date. “Mind blowing,” he said. “I am so humbled but I’m ready to continue to blow that number out the water.”
With the company’s fast growth bringing supply chain and inventory management into greater focus, the new funding will go towards fulfilling purchase orders and keeping up with production, Miller said. Brand awareness and marketing efforts that showcase Owen’s as a versatile mixer or non-alcoholic refreshment will also be a key area.
Owen’s will also be leaning into areas where it has enjoyed success thus far: adding to deals with golf property management companies KemperGolf and Concert Golf Partners, Owen’s recently signed a multi-year agreement to become the partner of golf property management company Troon, which has 67 affiliate sites nationwide. Recent data provided by stadium management group Delaware North has also been encouraging, Miller said, as Owen’s products allows for venues to reduce steps (and touchpoints) when preparing drinks for fans as Major League Baseball parks reopen with limited capacity.
“They are selling more cocktails of the ones they had already sold before after switching to Owen’s,” he said. “We are helping speed up a process while making it more quality driven and consistent which is thus leading to greater reorders of a drink.”