New York-based hydration beverage brand HALO Sport announced today that it has received an undisclosed six-figure investment from Alabama-based Molson Coors DSD house Gulf Distributing Holdings Inc., in addition to a distribution partnership to service the Southeast market.
HALO co-founder and CEO Anshuman Vohra said that he initially met with Gulf chairman and CEO Elliot Maisel earlier this year to discuss a standard distribution partnership, but was surprised when Maisel, impressed with HALO’s presentation, offered equity investment in the brand.
“When we went to them it was purely about distribution, a deeper relationship was not on my mind at all,” Vohra said. “I said ‘if this is going to incentivize you and your team to sell a lot more HALO and do well with it, plus be able to give me advice when I need and can call you up, then I think it’s a good deal.’”
Founded in 2018, HALO produces a line of better-for-you, organic premium sports drinks available in Black Cherry, Blood Orange, Lemonade, Lime, Peach, Pineapple, and Tangerine flavors. The drinks retail for $2.49-$2.99 and contain 2 grams of sugar per 16 oz. bottle. Last year, co-founder Robin Shobin told BevNET that the brand is targeting the “modern wellness warrior” set of fitness-minded consumers who want low sugar alternatives to mainstream sports drinks such as Gatorade.
Gulf is not the first time HALO has taken an investment from an unexpected source. Last fall, HALO received equity investment from Dirty Lemon parent company Iris Nova and began using its text message-based “c-commerce” platform to drive online sales. In March, HALO reached an agreement to partner with an “A-List celebrity” who will become active with the brand in the coming months in a hands-on role that will include influencer marketing, Vohra said.
According to Vohra, Gulf has already secured roughly 350 new retail outlets for HALO and will begin distributing the brand in Alabama and Florida next month. Although “[Gulf] haven’t even sold a single bottle yet,” he added that the partnership has already opened new doors for the company as other Molson Coors DSD distributors around the country have reached out to him about carrying the brand.
The Southeast expansion also broadens HALO’s footprint nationwide. The brand is available in over 700 stores nationwide and had been primarily focused on the New York and Los Angeles markets, Vohra said — in Southern California, the company is working with beverage incubator L.A. Libations (in which Molson Coors has a minority stake) and has grown in the region twice as fast as anticipated, while in New York the brand has partnered with Anheuser-Busch distributor Clare Rose. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic has had a greater impact on those markets, Vohra decided to accelerate HALO’s expansion into the Southeast and other parts of the country less hard hit by the virus.
The company is currently seeking to expand its sales team and has recently hired a new salesperson for the Los Angeles market. Vohra noted that the company is also working with prominent fitness influencers, including Katie and Denise Austin.
He noted that added functional ingredients in HALO such as magnesium and vitamins give the sports drink additional immunity-boosting properties, while current flavors such as Peach, Black Cherry and Tangerine play well to Southeast consumers.
“Perhaps the biggest change in our strategy has been the fact that we’re going to expand more rapidly than we had planned to expand, only because we’re in a situation where I think some of our competitors are either retrenching or in a situation where they’re still figuring out what’s going on,” Vohra said. “For us, in a world in which everyone is more focused on health, immunity and being hydrated, we believe that can benefit brands like HALO.”
To give back during the crisis, HALO has donated bottles to hospitals, including the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital and Mount Sinai in New York to support frontline healthcare workers.