Cactus water startup brand Caliwater has raised $2 million in a financing round backed by a slate of professional athletes, actors and musicians.
The round, announced today, marks the brand’s second $2 million raise in as many years, and was completed this summer. New investors include NFL quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Matt Barkley, UFC champion Claudia Gadelha, baseball stars Cody Bellinger and Cole Tucker, musician Ryan Tedder, and actors Ashley Benson, Mike Colter and Frank Grillo. Past investors Gerard Butler, Glen Powell, Brooke Burke, Ross Butler, Gregg Sulkin and DJ Ruckus also participated in the round.
The California-based brand was relaunched in 2021 by actors Oliver Trevena and Vanessa Hudgens and, according to Trevena, has now expanded its retail footprint nationwide via distribution with KeHE, as well as online through Amazon and direct-to-consumer. Caliwater is sold at all BevMo locations across the country and, in California, the brand is sold in accounts such as Target, Bristol Farms, Gelsons, Ralph’s, Mother’s Market, Stater Brothers and Erewhon. In December, the company announced its East Coast expansion and is now sold in chains like Shoprite, Fairway and Gourmet Garage.
Trevena said the new financing will primarily go towards growing distribution, increasing marketing efforts, and hiring. This month, Caliwater brought on CPG industry veteran Nick Benz, formerly of Fiji Water and Barrel Creek Provisions, as its president. As well, the company is looking to add sales and field marketing roles and is seeking an executive level marketing leader.
“[The financing] is the fuel in the car, to keep it moving along at the speed that we’re now going,” Trevena said.
So far, the brand has avoided taking institutional funding, Trevena said, and instead he and Hudgens have tapped into their personal networks to bring in friends who are passionate about the brand.
Having a diverse roster of investors from around sports and entertainment has also been significant to Caliwater’s growth, he added. Beyond the individual reach they have with consumers, Trevena noted that the involvement of sports stars like Rodgers and Barkley, for example, have helped open up sales to teams and athletes as a hydration beverage, while the actors have worked to promote the brand behind the scenes with cast and crew on film sets.
“That list of names, they’re all people that Vanessa and I are close to, and they’re all people that, genuinely, we would send the product to, or they would come across it and try it, and they’d be like, ‘Bro, I want to be involved in this,’” he said. “So, we call it a strategic round, and with that we’ve just kept it heavily focused on bringing in extra talent and celebrity around the brand.”
The financing announcement comes as Caliwater is launching its latest innovation, a line of kids drinks packaged in 8 oz. pouches. Available in a single SKU, Wild Prickly Pear, the kids drinks are shelf stable and contain no artificial ingredients or flavors. The line is set to roll out to retail stores next month in 4-packs and will also be available online. Trevena said the idea for the kids line stemmed from investors reporting that their children were regularly drinking the products, noting that at 25 calories per serving it will compete as a better-for-you option in the kids sets.
Looking ahead, Trevena said he is interested in launching Caliwater internationally, but the focus for the immediate future will be on continuing to establish the brand in the U.S.
“We’re very grateful to get through the first 18 months [of the business], because it’s very tough, and the economy right now, as well, is changing,” he said. “We have enough money in the bank that we’re in the safe zone, and that’s great as well. So, we’re in a very good place for the brand and so next year, we’re just looking to continue that growth, just keep pushing it and make it really a household name. That is what we’re looking to do.”