Caliwater Raises $2M in Celeb-Backed Seed Round

California-based cactus water maker Caliwater, which relaunched in April under the leadership of filmmaker Oliver Trevena and actress Vanessa Hudgens, announced last week that it has raised $2 million in a seed round, backed by individual investors.

Who’s in the round?

According to a report in Forbes, the investment team features a number of celebrities and business leaders, including actor Gerard Butler and Greater Purpose LLC founder Ashley Coleman, CLMBR founder Avrum Elmakis and Marco Borges, the co-owner of 22 Days Nutrition. Actors Ross Butler and Glen Powell and fitness personality Brooke Burke, who also participated in the round, were previously announced as early stage investors in the company.

In an email to BevNET, Trevena highlighted the mixture of celebs and entrepreneurs as a boon for the company, noting that many of those who signed on to the round are personal friends. In particular, he specifically cited Coleman’s beverage CPG experience, including time spent as a sales manager for Gallo Wine Company. Meanwhile, he added Elmakis brings insights from the fitness energy space from his tenureat exercise machine maker CLIMBR.

“They all invested because they genuinely love the product [and] the vision for the brand,” Trevena said via email. “I feel like with the mix of minds and creativity we have with this brand — it’s unstoppable!”

What does this mean for Caliwater?

Initially founded in 2014, Trevena relaunched the brand earlier this year with Hudgens on board as a co-founder. After retooling the branding and formula, the company began online sales this spring. According to Trevena, since April the brand has begun making headway in brick-and-mortar accounts in California, including Vintage Grocers, Earth Bar, Keg and Bottle, Pink Dot, Sunlife and Alfred Coffee. Caliwater has also added several restaurant and hospitality accounts in California and Las Vegas, including Craig’s, Elia Beach Club at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas and Resorts World Las Vegas.

Caliwater has also partnered with Los Angeles Distribution Company to service the brand in Southern California and is now heading into the midwest with Super Beverage Company in Ohio, Trevena said.

The seed round will help the company build out its staff, with expansions to its sales and distribution teams coming in the near future, Trevena said. The company is also preparing to bring on a chief operating officer.

This financing, however, is only a precursor to larger efforts, according to the company. Caliwater plans to begin fundraising for a Series A round by the end of this year, with a goal of achieving a $100 million valuation by mid-2022.