Functional soda producer Olipop has closed a $30 million Series B funding round led by Monogram Capital and supported by a roster of celebrity investors, the company announced today.
Among the notable names involved in the round are Priyanka Chopra, musician Camila Cabello, actress and comedian Mindy Kaling, rapper Logic, actress and Goop founder Gwyneth Paltrow, singer Paul Klein, and the Jonas Brothers – Nick Jonas, Joe Jonas and Kevin Jonas.
Individual participants include former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi and her husband Raj Nooyi, A-Series Management & Investments founder Anjula Acharia, ClassPass founder Payal Kadakia, Beautycon co-founder Moj Mahdara, and Patrick Schwarzenegger.
As part of the deal, Monogram partner Jared Stein will join Olipop’s board of directors. The firm previously led the company’s $10 million Series A funding round in 2020. Also returning from that round is Rocana Venture Partners.
“Our goal has always been to offer a product that can truly occupy the space that traditional soda has filled while also contributing to consumers’ overall well-being,” co-founder and CEO Ben Goodwin said in a press release. “We are thrilled to have incredible investment partners join us in this mission through their participation in our Series B. These celebrities and talent will help us reframe consumer perception of soda within American culture.”
The company said the funding will primarily go towards supporting innovation, hiring staff, fueling ecommerce and wholesale growth, and expanding its marketing efforts into new channels including television and out-of-home advertising.
The new financing values the California-based company at $200 million. According to the release, the brand anticipates it will achieve a $100 million revenue run rate by the end of this year.
Founded in 2018, Olipop produces a line of low sugar sodas containing prebiotic fibers that promote gut health. The brand is one of several emerging players in the “Functional Pop” set built around better-for-you sodas that includes players such as Poppi, Culture Pop, Health-Ade’s Booch Pop, Huzzah! and REBBL Pop. Last year, Poppi closed a $13.5 million funding round backed by its primary institutional investor CAVU Venture Partners and a roster of high profile names including Russell Westbrook and Olivia Munn.
Speaking to BevNET in 2020, Jared Stein was bullish on Olipop and the overall functional pop space, suggesting that its “crushable” taste profile could lead it to reach $1 billion in sales by mid-decade and could become double or even triple the size of the kombucha category.
“OLIPOP is transforming how consumers experience soda,” Stein said in today’s release. “Today’s consumers are increasingly focused on lower-sugar alternatives that don’t sacrifice taste and include functional benefits such as enhanced gut and immune health. We believe strongly in this mission and are excited to amplify our partnership with OLIPOP to bring much-needed innovation and functional health benefits to a traditional soda offering that is so ripe in its need for better-for-you alternatives.”
Additional participants in the Series B round include Equinox co-founder Lavinia Errico; DIG founder and CEO Adam Eskin; 300 Entertainment co-founder Roger Gold; Summer Fridays co-founders Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores Ireland; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins; Hill Artists founder Rupert London; Shake Shack CMO Jay Livinstong; Snap Inc. chairman Michael Lynton; former NBA player JJ Redick; adventure capitalist Devon Levesque; Aurify Brands director John Rigos; screenwriter and TV producer Philip Rosenthal; TikTok head of global marketing Nick Tran; Brandon Shainfeld and Keri Shahid.