Ape Water Launches IRL in California
As the Bored Ape Yacht Club has made its cartoon simians synonymous with web3 culture, multiple CPG companies have adopted the NFT collection’s imagery for branding and marketing purposes. But now, California-based startup Ape Beverages Company has crafted an entire business around it.
Ape Beverages was founded this year by CEO Itai Leffler, a CPG industry consultant, and Andrew Bagg, a DJ, nightclub owner and founder of HIRD Music Group. Last month, the company launched its first product line, Ape Water, a 16 oz. canned water featuring a licensed Bored Ape on its label. The liquid itself is a naturally alkaline 7.5 pH still water locally sourced from Mount Shasta and packaged in Washington. The drinks retail for $2.99 per can and five cents from every can sold will be donated to environmental cleanup programs.
According to Leffler – who previously worked for brand incubator Beach House Group, developing celebrity products such as Kendall Jenner’s Moon Oral Care and Millie Bobby Brown’s skincare line Florence – Ape Water aims to be a web3 native company that markets directly to the online community by commercializing various web3-related IPs; namely, but not limited to, NFTs. The cans will feature a rotating series of Bored Apes and other NFT images licensed from their respective owners – all of whom are web3 influencers and/or stakeholders. Each can will be limited edition, with new designs launching every three months, aiming to tap into the collectible nature of NFTs themselves.
“We label ourselves, with humility, that we’re kind of the Supreme of water,” Leffler said, referring to the fashion company famous for its limited drops. “Where Supreme will do a Louis Vuitton program or they’ll do a Skittles program, the Ape Water can is where we are partnering with different IP and we’re leveling that up…. We want to be seen as the newest sustainable water brand with this unique shareability and collectability with the different IPs, so it becomes more of a storytelling lifestyle brand.”
Ape Water’s first drop, which launched in independent SoCal retail accounts last month, features Bored Ape Yacht Club #5382, an NFT owned by Luca Schnetzler, CEO of web3 company Pudgy Penguins.
Leffler said the partnerships are expected to benefit both parties. While each quarter’s IP partner will help to promote Ape Water online, the cans could also help boost the interest and price of the licensed NFT. Indeed, since announcing Ape Water this summer Bored Ape #5382 has seen a steady increase in price on NFT marketplace OpenSea and as of today had received sale offers worth over $99,000.
Each licensing agreement is also protected in the case of a change of ownership, allowing Ape Water to continue to sell its beverages in the event an NFT’s owner decides to sell their token while its can is still on the market, Leffler said.
Leffler acknowledged that from a brand identity perspective, the name “Ape Water” may appear to be tying the company to the Bored Ape Yacht Club brand. However, as the IP strategy expands over time, he hopes that Ape Water will be able to branch out and that the name will resonate with consumers more as a feeling; “People will realize that we’re just a vessel and the word ape means that you’re ‘aped up’ in your life,” he said.
As well, the company has secured trademark rights to expand into additional beverage categories in the future.
“There’s definitely ways of actually representing that through marketing and storytelling that we can do,” he added. “So we’re not concerned about it long term, and it’s more about that space in between where we’re going to educate the market and build it into something that is more than what it is. But we definitely feel, just like Gatorade is ‘Gator-Ade’ or Red Bull, we feel that ‘Ape’ is just a synonymous word with water.”
While Ape Beverages is positioning itself as a web3 native brand, Leffler said the business model itself is built more on his own CPG industry experience. Ape Water is launching in Los Angeles retail accounts and is currently in about 20 independent accounts including influential quick delivery grocery store Pink Dot. The company is now aiming to build out its presence in California and take a targeted approach to regional expansion, with crypto-hub Miami next in line followed by Atlanta and New York City.
The retail strategy is in part being crafted by COO Brad Neumann, who previously held sales and marketing positions as Red Bull and Anheuser-Busch InBev. The company is also working with CPG industry consultant Britt Paradise.
With a traditional beverage brand building playbook in place for brick-and-mortar growth, Ape Beverages is currently developing a direct-to-consumer website that will be more “web 2.5,” Leffler said, relying on standard subscription sales models but adding options to pay in cryptocurrency. The company is also exploring potential NFT drops and other online marketing opportunities, in addition to hosting its own Discord server.
Ape Beverages is now raising a seed funding round and has brought in over $700,000 to date from individual angel investors writing check sizes between $5,000 and $25,000, including 22 Bored Ape owners who advise the brand on web3 culture and technology.
“We’ve gone to the ape holders and said ‘This is a brand for you guys’ … we want to really build this collectively,” he said.
Taika’s Mateverse Makes Mainstream Splash
After a months-long collaborative process with web3 community Friends With Benefits (FWB), California-based beverage brand Taika launched its canned yerba mate Mateverse beverage online in September to the general public. The product sold out “almost immediately” according to co-founder Kal Freese, and the brand released a second production run online last month.
Containing zero sugar and 60 mg of caffeine per 12 oz. can, Mateverse was created with input from members of FWB, who tested and voted on various iterations of the drink. Test batches were sent to members who purchased an exclusive NFT that was released in April, but the drink didn’t make its mainstream debut until the fall as an ecommerce exclusive.
Freese told BevNET at the time of the launch that Taika – which also makes canned functional coffees and matcha drinks – will continue to work with FWB to promote Mateverse, but the company plans to take a “mindful” approach to any future web3 projects. He said Taika’s main focus is on building the traditional brand but future web3-integrated products or promotions will be considered if they provide a way to grow the brand that can’t be achieved with traditional technology. He called the Mateverse project a success for the brand, noting it generated strong word of mouth in the web3 community.
“I think this is a great experiment for us,” he said. “Right now, it seems like it’s pretty successful, and we’re certainly excited to keep exploring this further.”
Perfy Token-Gated Discounts Program Goes Live
After announcing its plans to integrate an NFT-based rewards program earlier this year, functional soda brand Perfy last month officially launched its token-gated discount system, founder and CEO Vasa Martinez announced on LinkedIn.
The program allows holders of Doodles, Noodles and Perfy Loyalty Card NFTs. Consumers can connect their blockchain wallets to confirm membership and receive discounted pricing on Perfy products, including 20% on orders of two or more cases.
“Nothing fancy,” Martinez wrote. “Just simple, added utility for holders of projects I’m invested in.”