Ugly Drinks appears to have ceased U.S. operations.
The U.K.-based sparkling water company had shuttered its business in Great Britain last year in order to focus on growing in the U.S., but the brand’s website is no longer accepting orders at this time. Ugly’s social media accounts have also been inactive since late 2021.
Meanwhile, several high-ranking employees at the company, including U.S. president Brett Lanford, have left over the past month, according to LinkedIn. Jon VanSteenbergen, Ugly’s director of DSD sales since 2018, left the company in January to join The Good Crisp Company as Field Sales Manager. Similarly, Jason Villano, a longtime Coke employee hired as VP of U.S. Sales 11 months ago, is now listed as an “advisor” and appears to be a full-time employee of another company.
In an Instagram direct message to a customer viewed by BevNET, a representative for Ugly responded “We have shut the business down” when asked about the status of U.S. production.
On Twitter, several users have voiced complaints about unfulfilled orders and a lack of response from customer service.
Buyer beware @uglydrinks will charge you not send your order and then never get back to you after 3 weeks of reaching out daily… #BadBusiness #poorcustomerservice #buyerbeware
— leelee (@Atom_Eyes) February 3, 2022
The company did not respond to a request for comment.
Launched in 2015 by former Vita Coco marketing executives Joe Benn and Hugh Thomas, Ugly marketed a line of zero-calorie, zero-sugar flavored sparkling waters in 12 oz. cans. After building the brand primarily through D2C, it began transitioning to chain retailers like CVS and Fresh Thyme over the last 12 months. The company also picked up around $3.9 million in funding along the way from equity groups such as Pentland Ventures, Color Capital and Steadman Partners, as well as from ZX Ventures, the venture capital arm of Anheuser Busch-InBev.
Thomas left his role at the beginning of January, citing burnout and a desire to “take a break and a deep breath before figuring out what is next.”