Plant-based chocolate milk maker Nutcase is banking on its connection to professional poker and celebrities to recruit new consumers and investors as it seeks to raise $2.5 million in seed round funding.
Launched in May, Nutcase produces cashew nut flavored milks, sweetened with dates and agave and sold in 8 oz. slim cans in three varieties: Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry. The idea was to bring to market a clean label, better-for-you version of the childhood treat, said co-founder and CEO Joelle Weinand.
Even prior to launch, Nutcase had connections to the pro poker world. Professional card player Phil Hellmuth, who has won a record 17 World Series of Poker championships, was an early investor, connected through Weinand’s husband, Shopify co-founder Daniel Weinand, another familiar face in high-stakes professional poker. Hellmuth helped introduce the brand to esports streamer and creator Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins — who has over 19 million followers on streaming platform Twitch. Blevins, an avid celebrity poker player as well, immediately took to the idea and came onboard as a co-founder.
The esports celebrity streamer has been part of everything from tasting formulations to strategizing marketing campaigns, said Weinand. Through the celebrity poker circuit, Blevins also helped introduce the brand to electronic music artist Steve Aoki who is a Nutcase brand ambassador.
As recently as last month, Blevins and Nutcase hosted a celebrity poker tournament livestreamed last month to coincide with the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Las Vegas which included other recognizable streamers and internet personalities Nate Hill and Jeff Gross.
“People talk about golf as being the sport of networking,” Weinand said. “I would challenge that and say right now the best-kept secret is poker. It has been pretty clutch for us.”
So far, Nutcase has a relatively low social media following, only 5,000 Instagram followers, but is using the clout of its celebrity backers to raise a new tranche of capital. Nutcase is in the midst of raising a seed round of $2.5 million with about half ($1.3 million) coming from strategic investors and $1.2 million through a crowdfunding campaign that will be part of a SAFE note launching in February.
“When you talk about ways to really engage with your fans, why not let them have skin in the game and really make them feel part of the team,” she said. “What better way than to let them literally have a piece of the company?”
In terms of strategic partners, the brand has secured investment from Dream Ventures, whose portfolio includes Chubby Snacks, Mezcla, Drumroll and Dream Pops.
The brand will also be showcased in an upcoming reality show that follows three companies in the process of raising equity crowdfunding. Nutcase is the sole CPG brand in the series that will be streamed on X.
Over its first seven months, Nutcase has focused its distribution in a market it knows well: Las Vegas. Along with hosting celebrity poker events, the brand has lined up distribution on Gopuff and Terribles, a regional gas station chain with about 150 locations in Nevada.
“The advice I got from a lot of other creator-backed companies was that if they could do it again, they would go slower and more strategically,” Weinand said. “So we launched intentionally and are carefully selecting who we do that with while we hone our messaging.”
The brand is also working to partner with a couple “major casinos” in Las Vegas. The brand has also onboarded with Pod Foods as well as convenience channel distributor Core-Mark.
“We’re laying the groundwork for a retail push in 2025 and the seed round will be what supports that,” she said.