Premium water brand Hawaii Volcanic Water has raised $10 million in a funding round that includes an equity investment from beverage accelerator L.A. Libations, with surfing icon Bethany Hamilton also joining the team.
The new funding will go towards doubling the brand’s door count to 8,000 in the coming months through the support of L.A. Libations and its Relentless Trade Marketing and L.A. Vibrations divisions, with much of that expansion coming from the mainland U.S., according to Hawaii Volcanic founder Jason Donovan.
The company first began working with L.A. Libations through its SIP incubation program, and the accelerator has now helped it to secure Albertsons, Vons and Pavillions stores, which it will launch in the coming weeks. The brand is also sold in 7-Eleven, Circle K, Bristol Farms, AMPM, Whole Foods, Gelsons and Erewhon stores, among others.
“As it competes with imported sourced water, but is from the U.S.A., we’ve always loved the Hawaiian authenticity of the brand,” said L.A. Libations CEO Danny Stepper. “Our thesis and our calculus in partnering with any brand has never changed. It’s always about the founder, and we got to know Jason over the past couple of years. We see a big opportunity playing out here.”
Founded in 2012, Hawaii Volcanic was primarily sold only in the Aloha State for most of its first decade in business, expanding into the continental U.S. in 2021. Of its current 4,000 accounts, Donovan said about half are in Hawaii while its mainland business is primarily focused on the West Coast. In Hawaii, California and Nevada, the brand is distributed by PepsiCo and Donovan said the company is in talks to potentially expand that partnership to additional regions.
In addition to PepsiCo, Hawaii Volcanic is also distributed through Republic National Distributing Company, Hi-Touch Libations and travel channel distributor HMSHost, as well as online direct-to-consumer nationwide.
Hawaii Volcanic has also partnered with pro surfer Bethany Hamilton, who has joined the brand as an equity partner. The Hawaii-born surfer famously survived a shark attack in 2003, when she was 13, in which her left arm was bitten off. She quickly mounted a return to surfing, winning a 2004 ESPY Award, and was later the subject of the 2011 biopic Soul Surfer.
According to Donovan, Hamilton was a longtime fan of the brand and reached out to the company about potential partnerships.
“I am so excited to be part of the Hawaii Volcanic team,” Hamilton said in a press release. “The brand has incredible Hawaiian Authenticity, and that authenticity including truly being pono and ‘doing what’s right’ deeply resonates with my core beliefs and is part of what drove me to this brand.”
Hamilton intends to be active in the brand and will lend her image to in-store displays, event activations and will be involved in B2B marketing as well, Stepper added.
As Hawaii Volcanic looks to make its name outside of the islands, the brand has also added a line of 100% rPET plastic bottles alongside glass. Donovan said he is also in the process of developing an aluminum packaged option as well. He noted that the company has focused extensively on sustainability initiatives, including giveback programs to build playgrounds from bottle-sourced plastic.
The company may also look to open up the Japanese market in the near future as well and is currently speaking with an interested distributor, Donovan added.
“Distance wise Hawaii to Japan is the same as Hawaii to the Western U.S. and the Japanese people love Hawaii and understand and appreciate the health benefits of drinking even cooking with naturally alkaline Hawaii volcanic water. So that makes a lot of sense for us,” he said.