Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha announced today it has raised an additional $3.5 million from investment firm KarpReilly in a “second and final tranche” of its Series A funding round, bringing the total financing to $7 million. In February 2019, KarpReilly led the Colorado-based brand’s initial Series A round and co-founder Allan Karp joined Rowdy Mermaid’s board of directors.
Matt Plitch, founder of sustainable dairy brand Neutral, envisions carbon neutral food and beverage as the next big food movement. As a “global food revolution” in line with the recent rise of veganism, he sees a future in which grocery stores will have a carbon neutral aisle and “neutralists” can shop for products with net-zero carbon emissions.
The thirteenth round of Elevator Talk Livestream features leaders from Full Bar, Waiakea Hawaiian Volcanic Water, Recoup Beverage, Favor and more. This week's special co-host is Nicole Dawes, the founder of Late July and Nixie Sparkling Water.
Amidst the global pandemic of 2020, Ugly recently announced a new limited edition flavor program to help further drive the company’s DTC business. Today, we’re taking a look at three of these flavors, including Cherry Cola, Dr. Ugly and Orange Soda.
Boston-based functional shot brand DrinkTru has secured $1.5 million in new funding, founder James McNamara told BevNET last week. According to founder Jack McNamara, the company had been in talks over a potential investment with a venture capital partner for about four months before they pulled out in March, requiring the brand to quickly change gears.
Waterloo names three new hires as the brand shifts focus; The Alkaline Water Company names director of operations; Regatta Craft Mixers adds four new members to marketing and sales teams; Alan Murray named chairman of the board at Sambazon; Brian Pear joins PUSH Agency as CMO.
SOS Hydration, a California-based maker of electrolyte drink mixes, is the latest powdered beverage brand to take the leap to liquid, announcing today it will launch a ready-to-drink enhanced water line this summer. The line features Citrus, Fruit Punch, Mango and Watermelon flavors and will retail for $2.48 per 16.9 oz. bottle.
On this week's Office Hours, Jordan Gaspar, managing partner at AF Ventures and Ben Mand, CEO of Harmless Harvest field questions from food and beverage industry entrepreneurs about investor and brand relationships and how they can evolve in a crisis climate.
Brendan Brazier, co-founder of pioneering plant-based protein brand Vega and “hard” cold-pressed juice brand Pulp Culture, spoke about how his passion for plant-based nutrition culminated in Vega, why the company embraced the saying “ignorance is our only competition,” how he assessed the opportunity for a better-for-you alcoholic beverages and his perspective on the evolution of plant-based foods.
As a brand, Untitled Art is focused on delivering the “newest drink concepts and styles, showcasing our amazing artists, and collaborating with our friends around the world.” The company currently produces a beer and a CBD-infused sparkling water.
In the first quarter of 2020, thanks to Covid-19, the investment landscape for spirits—and literally every other category—quickly devolved into something unexpected. So what does this mean for investors and entrepreneurs looking for venture capital funding?
Taika is a new line of 9.5 oz. ready to drink coffee beverages that describes itself as “the world’s first perfectly calibrated coffee.” The three-SKU line, which is sold direct-to-consumers via the company’s website, features formulations that are enhanced with adaptogens and functional mushrooms while still providing smooth flavor.
GT Dave, founder & CEO of GT’s Kombucha, spoke about the brand’s recent packaging refresh and what he viewed as significant problems in how consumers perceived each of the company’s product lines, how his perspective as a category creator impacted the moves, why he’s embraced a more public persona than in the past and reacted to the provocative “Forbes” profile of him.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has forced a shutdown of all non-essential businesses, leading to both mass layoffs and a widespread shift to work-from-home for white collar workers, the growing space for cold brew coffee on draft has been effectively halted. The impact has forced coffee brands and distributors that had relied heavily on the office channel to make rapid changes.
