Cure Hydration has raised $5.6 million in a Series A funding round led by Lerer Hippeau, the company announced this week. The funding arrives as the New York-based functional drink mix brand has expanded its retail presence to over 15,000 doors nationwide.
Launched in 2019, Cure produces a line of better-for-you hydration mixes made with ingredients including coconut water and pink Himalayan salt. According to the company, Cure has grown an average of 230% annually since its launch and its retail expansion marks a rapid rise in footprint. Last year the brand reported it was entering over 6,500 new doors, and speaking to BevNET at Natural Products Expo West 2023 last month, founder and CEO Lauren Picasso put Cure’s door count around 13,000.
Lerer Hippeau, early stage venture capital firm and existing stakeholder in Cure, led the funding round and was joined by a mix of new and existing investors including Valedor Partners, Simple Food Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Joyance Partners, Silas Capital and Kim Clijsters among others. Cure previously closed a $2.6 million funding round in 2020.
“We continue to invest in Cure because the team has proved that they can scale beyond direct-to-consumer to become an omnichannel brand with a national footprint,” said Caitlin Strandberg, partner at Lerer Hippeau, in a press release. “We are excited to see Cure’s continued retail distribution and disruption of the hydration category.”
The company said it will put the capital towards supporting its retail growth, product innovation, brand awareness and team expansion. Answering questions via email today, Picasso said Cure is aiming to carve out market share in the functional drink mix market and has seen triple-digit growth in the natural channel over the last 12-weeks, up around 316% according to SPINS.
The brand’s expanded retail presence includes rollouts into Sprouts, Kroger, Albertsons, Stop & Shop, Wegmans and H-E-B. “This year, we will also be launching conventional Grocery with the launch of Kroger and Albertsons where we will be testing double placement both in mainline sets as well as checklane.”
“We will support this growth through demos and sampling programs since we’ve found this to be the most successful conversion tactic for Cure,” Picasso wrote.
In retail, Cure has sought to merchandise its products in the sports nutrition set. At Expo West, Picasso noted that many of the brands in the sports nutrition space today have a “medicinal” or “clinical” positioning, or feel intended for hardcore athletes, whereas Cure aims to be an inviting everyday product. Via email, she also pointed to recent disruption in the sports drink category that has seen some consumers move away from legacy brands like Gatorade and Powerade while embracing innovative new products.
“Sports Nutrition sets are supporting brands in the functional drink mix category and we prefer placement on shelf with functional foods and beverages, where shoppers have been trained to find our kind of product,” she wrote. “We drive conversion by offering our products at the single stick level and supporting stores with demos and sampling programs.”
Cure currently has 10 full time employees, recently bringing on a new CMO, former SmartyPants Vitamins senior director of marketing Laura Kendrick, and a VP of innovation, Stacey Gillespie, who held similar positions at Ora Organic, Rritual Superfood and Gaia Herbs. Picasso said the company is not immediately hiring additional roles but will seek to expand its team further next year.
Last year, the company rebranded its portfolio with new packaging that better visualizes its fruit flavors. Following the rebrand, Cure reformulated its Lemon flavor, relaunching the SKU as Lemonade. Most recently, the brand introduced a Strawberry Kiwi variety.
Beyond new flavors, Picasso said today that the brand is currently developing innovations in additional product categories to launch in the next 12 months.