Nixie Beverage Company has raised a fresh tranche of capital as it goes deeper in better-for-you sodas.
The Massachusetts-based brand has landed a $26.9 million investment, according to an SEC Form D filed on March 31. On the filing, Invus managing director Evren Bilimer was listed as an addition to the brand’s board and Rodney Clark was listed as the broker on the deal.
Previously, Nixie had raised at least $8 million in July 2022, according to a separate SEC filing.
Starting with flavored sparkling water in 2019, Nixie was founder Nicole Bernard Dawes’ first beverage brand, after founding Late July Organic Snacks brand in 2003 (and later selling it to Snyder’s Lance in 2014).
With sales in excess of $20 million last year, according to SPINS data, Nixie recently expanded into carbonated soft drinks with a Zero Sugar Soda line, seeing white space between established diet sodas like Zevia and the low-sugar, prebiotic set that has flooded the market recently.
Dollar sales in the low-calorie, carbonated beverage category were up 10.8% in the two-week period ending March 8, outpacing the other CSD categories, according to Goldman Sachs analysis of NielsenIQ data. Volume also exceeded full-calorie sodas in the period, up 5.9%.
Pulling share from the increasingly saturated low- to no-sugar soda category could be an uphill battle. Incumbents like Zevia have struggled to maintain momentum – although its Q4 earnings showed improvement – and as strategics move deeper into gut-health soft drinks with Pepsi’s poppi acquisition, category leader Olipop, and Coke’s new Simply Pop, jockeying for shelf-space could become even more difficult.
The brand launched its Zero Sugar line with Classic Cola, Ginger Ale and Root Beer flavors; it is differentiated by its focus on using organic ingredients. The sodas launched into Sprouts Farmers Market locations over the summer as well as regionally at Good Eggs, Erewhon, New Season’s, Cub, Raley’s, MOM’s Organic Market, PCC and Fresh Thyme.
Its newest addition, Cream Soda, hit stores in March.