Black-owned South African spirits group Spearhead announced today it has raised $3 million to expand the reach of its two products, Vusa Vodka and Bayab Gin, to the U.S., as well as launch new product lines and accelerate its marketing efforts. The raise was led by Pendulum, an investment and advisory platform aimed at supporting business leaders of color.
“The investment from Pendulum for Spearhead provides us with not just capital, but strategic partnership that will help guide us through market expansion, the knowledge, network and trust is a recipe for a great partnership,” said co-founders Damola Timeyin and Chris Frederick.
The cash injection will expand the presence of its South Africa-made liquor to the U.S. Both the vodka and gin products feature local ingredients and botanicals sourced from a range of countries across Africa. Each aims to highlight African heritage through the unique flavor profiles including Zambian Baobab, cane sugar from Kwazulu-natal.
“With a lack of Black-owned African Spirits brands exported globally, we have made it our mission to connect the world to Africa through our spirits,” said Frederick. “Our brands not only increase diversity and challenge cultural bias in the sector but being produced on the African continent allows us to show the world what Africans have always known about its culturally and resource rich continent, with products that compete on the world stage in taste and quality, as well as innovation.”
The capital will also bring products in the group’s innovation pipeline to market including the release of a rum variety later this year as well as a range of new SKUs of Bayab Gin that represent different countries within the African continent. The company has sold over 35,000 bottles since its debut two years ago and said it has seen strong reception in both South Africa and European markets.
“We’re extremely excited to be entering the U.S. market and working with our distributors Winebow and Bounty Bev, as well as a stellar team of strategic partners who will help us navigate the market,” said the cofounders. “We’re starting in California, New York tri-state and Tennessee, with a view to entering Georgia and DC later in the year. We believe our brands will be a great fit for on-premise and retail, and will focus on building great relationships in both channels to grow the brand.”
To further support its growth in the U.S., Spearhead has aligned itself with Kenny Burns, a veteran spirits executive who has held roles at CIROC and Grey Goose, and Donae Burston, founder and CEO of black-owned rosé brand La Fete du Rose. The former has also invested in the company.
Honing in on its mission toward fair representation, Spearhead has also made an investment within its own local community in South Africa. The company announced it will direct a portion of the new funds to uMthombo, an organization that supports street-connected children and those experiencing homelessness with life-skills training and methods to gain employment.
“We want to see Africa represented on every bar back and menu in the U.S., we aren’t just building a business, this is a mission we are proud to Spearhead,” said Timeyin and Frederick.
The company’s lead investor, Pendulum, has also made headlines recently after securing an investment from BDT & Company in May and funds from Bank of America last year to continue pursuing its goal of accelerating opportunities and supporting business leaders, owners and founders of color. The platform was created to address and provide a solution to the barriers minority, women and BIPOC-led companies face when it comes to venture capital funding.
According to data from Crunchbase 1.3% of VC funds were invested in black-founded businesses last year, totaling $4.2 billion. Despite that rate signifying a 281% increase since 2020, total venture capital funds directed to minority, women and black-owned businesses are not proportional to the sums garnered by white-owned businesses, the report notes.
In recent years individuals like Robbie and D’Rita Robinson, who founded Pendulum in 2019, have worked to create new pathways for entrepreneurs to not only increase access to capital but also support founders long-term with networking, mentorship and other learning-based opportunities.
Last year, spirits executive Dia Simms co-founded Pronghorn with a similar goal: to support the next generation of Black entrepreneurs, executive leaders, and founders, but specifically in the spirits industry. The organization has since secured a long-term partnership with Diageo NA and aims to take a multifaceted approach through investments in black-owned spirit businesses, mentorships programs for founders, recruitment through career initiatives at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and just last month, partnered with the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) to increase hiring from within the Black community among leading spirits suppliers.