Better-for-you mixer brand AVEC announced this week it has closed a $1.2 million pre-seed funding round led by Gather Ventures, an investment firm specializing in plant-based products.
The round also included funding from Black Ambition, a prize fund supporting minority-owned companies founded by singer Pharrell Williams, former senior executives for Diageo and Dollar Shave Club, and funds including Gaingels, SKU’d Ventures, Amplifiher, and Columbia Business School’s Lang Fund.
AVEC was founded last year by Alex Doman, a former analyst, and marketer Denetrias ‘Dee’ Charlemagne. The New York-based brand produces a line of better-for-you cocktail mixers made with real fruit juice, natural botanicals and contain 0 to 4 grams of sugar and per 8 oz. can. The brand’s products are available in Ginger, Grapefruit & Pomelo, Hibiscus & Pomegranate, Jalapeno & Blood Orange, and Yuzu & Lime varieties.
“AVEC’s delicious, natural and better-for-you product got us in the door, but we stayed for Dee and Alex’s passion for this quickly growing space and determination to be at the forefront of the paradigm shift in the way people approach the drinking occasion,” said Gather Ventures managing partner Adam Slutsky in a press release. “We are very excited to kick off our partnership and get plant-based, low-sugar cans in hands across the country.”
Founded in 2019, Gather Ventures is an early-stage investment firm focused on plant-based CPG companies. The fund’s portfolio includes brands like protein bar maker Misfits, wellness brand Wholier and snacks company Brami. According to Charlemagne, Gather became interested in AVEC for its unique approach to the mixer category which, despite a recent influx of premium innovations, has still been largely built around products using concentrates.
“There’s been so much culinary innovation [in plant-based], but it’s all the things you have before the bar. Once you get to the bar it’s still the same [lousy] mixers that have always been used,” Charlemagne said.
Doman and Charlemagne said the new funding has already been put to use, helping the brand to establish itself in retail and as a direct-to-consumer business. Since August, the company has also worked to expand its leadership team, converting its part time head of sales to full time and bringing on a full time operations lead.
Doman noted that although AVEC found itself “in a Topsy Turvy world” earlier this year, challenged by supply chain disruptions, the financing has helped the brand to secure consistent production and increase its inventory, as well as working to increase gross margins.
AVEC is currently available in about 150 doors around the country, with 70 locations within New York, and anticipates it will double its footprint in 2022. The brand is now aiming to increase its presence in food service accounts, working with Baldor Specialty Foods in New York, Maverick in Illinois (where it’s available in retailers like Foxtrot) and Martignetti Companies in New England.
While the brand is aiming to expand its presence in the coming months, Doman said AVEC plans to grow “carefully.” While much of the focus for distribution will be on the East Coast, he noted that a West Coast launch in Los Angeles is being considered for sometime next year.
Now, as AVEC seeks to grow brand awareness, Charlemagne said the company hopes to position itself as a thought leader in the better-for-you food and beverage industry while also targeting mocktail consumers and non-alcoholic use occasions. In addition to sampling events, the company is participating in online panels about health and wellness within the alcohol sector, including an upcoming discussion with author Ruby Warrington who coined the term “Sober Curious.”
As the mixer category grows, beverage strategics have also begun innovating within the space. Earlier this year, PepsiCo launched Neon Zebra, a canned mixer line available in retail and online. Meanwhile, established brands like Fever-Tree have seen sales surge as on-premise accounts rebound. But Charlemagne said she believes AVEC can stand out by leaning on authenticity, being a voice for health and wellness, and working to spark conversations around alcohol consumption and sugary drinks.
“It’s not just about thought leadership, it’s about putting human values to the brand,” she said.