Culture Pop has raised over $15 million, money which will go towards boosting marketing and expanding distribution, according to founder Tom First.
The latest raise, detailed in a SEC Form D filed on Friday, represents a “planned add-on” investment for the Boston-based soda company from existing investors, First told BevNET this morning. Although there is still an additional $12 million left open, the new funding “is it for now.”
“There’s a potential for a bit more money to come down the road from similar investors under certain terms,” he added.
Culture Pop raised $21 million last February, adding Enlightened Hospitality Investments and a private investment by Howard Schultz to the cap table.
“We’re growing a lot,” said First. “We’ve experienced almost 100% growth every single year and we expect to do that again this year.”
Along with preparing to launch its ninth flavor, Grape, Culture Pop has added several new retail partners in the last year. The brand recently went nationwide in Target, adding on to its footprint in H-E-B, Albertsons and Walmart, among others.
Those gains have been part of the brand’s transition to a direct-store delivery (DSD) model. First acknowledged that its deal with Big Geyser in New York has been “unbelievably” successful tapping into the market’s complex grocery and independent c-store channels.
The brand is in upwards of 18,000 stores (including independent channels), First estimated, and has seen nearly 100% sales growth year-over-year since it was founded in 2020.
Along with adding more sales support, Culture Pop expects to use its new funding on an expanded marketing push. This year the brand invested in its first television advertising campaign and has put dollars into building awareness with ads and activations in metro areas.
There has been a nominal uptick of investment in beverage.
The raise underscores the attention investors are paying to next-generation soft drinks as a category. The news of PepsiCo’s $1.95 billion deal to acquire Poppi last month came on the heels of competitor Olipop raising $50 million on a $1.85 billion valuation in February. Total CPG investment grew 83% quarter-over-quarter in Q1 2025, despite being down year-over-year, according to tracking from FABID.
“We have significantly lower awareness than poppi and Olipop, but we’re going to close that gap,” First said.