Hydration supplement Buoy has closed a $2.5 million round that brings NBA All-Star Chris Paul to the cap table as an investor and brand ambassador.
The California-based company produces a flavorless, colorless liquid drink additive that is designed to infuse vitamins and minerals into any beverage without affecting taste. Available in 2 oz. bottles (40 servings) in Hydration, Energy and Immunity SKUs, the product is sold mainly online but has a retail presence in over 7,000 doors.
Speaking via phone on Friday, Buoy CEO Daniel Schindler said his brand connected with Paul — a prolific plant-based CPG investor and Gopuff backer — through Robert Bennett, the CEO of Current Foods; Paul became an investor in the San Francisco-based plant-based seafood brand in 2022. But what sealed the player’s interest, Schindler said, was when he tried Buoy’s energy SKU last month prior to a late-season contest with the Denver Nuggets on April 6. That night, Paul poured in a career-high seven three-pointers.
While the brand has done promotional work with athletes in the past, landing Paul’s support brings increased awareness to Buoy’s core message of convenient, hassle-free hydration. His activism around underserved communities also resonated with the brand, which donates free product to people living with chronic illnesses for every bottle sold.
“That was awesome beyond just the product being a good fit for him personally and him being able to spread the word about Buoy to all the people that he knows,” said Schindler.
Also participating in this round: the CEO of restaurant chain Hooters, and several angel investors. With this round, Schindler said, the company, which counts Bennett and OLIPOP director of growth & talent Steven Vigilante as board members, focused on bringing in individuals that can expand its growing network.
Bringing on Paul opens new opportunities for building mass awareness (including potentially a limited-edition custom bottle), but Buoy’s central focus remains for the moment on selling into healthcare channels. The company works with an advisory group of dietitians and doctors and its most recent marketing campaign, titled “To Be Seen,” it sent samples to healthcare professionals and people with chronic illnesses, a group which Schindler said often feels “invisible” to the broader public.
Schindler is also hoping to provide Buoy with more substantial scientific support, hence the funding of three clinical trials this year to attempt to prove the formula’s efficacy in cases of diabetes and chemotherapy, and in general hydrating better than water. Once those trials are complete, the company will seek to leverage the results to grow with hospitals and healthcare providers; it currently counts around 10 hospital customers, including the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
But the long-term plan is for Buoy to work primarily behind-the-scenes supplying its formula to beverage companies to add in their finished products. Similar to other ingredient providers, the idea is for those partner brands — which in Buoy’s case includes Nova Kombucha, Wellbeing Brewing and, previously, M Kombucha — to feature Buoy’s logo on their nutrition panels.
“We are trying to be a hydration boost at Starbucks, and we’re talking to Delta Airlines and some others,” said Schindler. “That’s sort of the point we’re at now. We could partner with so many different companies and hotels and all these other places, so now we’re just trying to figure out the best places for where our network can lead us in terms of the next 12 months.”