LIQUID I.V. Closes Series B Round with "A-List" Backing
With an investor lineup including Scooter Braun and Kygo, amongst an equally impressive list of business and sports leaders, Liquid I.V. assembles for accelerated growth.
MARINA DEL REY, Calif., Aug. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Liquid I.V., one of the fastest growing CPG brands in the nation, celebrates the close of its $5M Series B funding. With financing led by CircleUp Growth Partners, a leading institutional investment firm based in San Francisco, CA, this latest round brings in TQ Ventures, a group led by SB Projects Founder and entrepreneur Scooter Braun; international music producer, Kygo and his influential manager, Myles Shear; and Washington Nationals centerfielder, Adam Eaton. These four complete an already impressive list of investors, advisors and Board including former COO of Microsoft, Kevin Turner, co-owner of the Oakland Athletics, Lew Wolff, Gensler Architects CEO Andy Cohen, MVMT CEO Jake Kassan, Jordan Younger of The Balanced Blonde, and CPG retail tycoon Scott Emerson. Liquid I.V. is best known for its Hydration Multiplier, a non-GMO electrolyte drink mix that's powered by their breakthrough delivery system, Cellular Transport Technology (CTT)™.
Liquid I.V.’s Hydration Multiplier, available in Lemon Lime, Acai Berry, and Passion Fruit flavors.
April 2015, Liquid I.V. CEO and Founder, Brandin Cohen, mentions the Hydration Brand to Kygo. Now 3 years later, they are business partners in the venture together.
Two of Liquid I.V.’s newest investors, Myles Shear (left) and Kygo (right), travel the world together touring.
Brandin Cohen, Liquid I.V. CEO and Founder
Adam Eaton, Centerfielder for MLB’s Washington Nationals
"This has been a big year for Liquid I.V., reaching number 1 on the Amazon Sports Drink Best Sellers List, launching the Passion Fruit flavor for our Hydration Multiplier line, innovating a new Sleep product that will be added to our collection later this year, growing our team, and now closing this Series B with some of the greatest partners around," said Brandin Cohen, Liquid I.V. CEO and Founder. "One of the best parts of this growth is that we're able to help even more people around the world as part of our giveback mission to defeat global dehydration. This year alone we'll donate over 300,000 servings of Hydration Multiplier to those in serious need in the most undernourished regions of the world."
Focused on investing in visionary founders, CircleUp Growth Partners leverages their proprietary technology, Helio, to identify innovative brands with differentiated products. "The company's growth in the past year alone is enough to catch your eye," said Kiva Dickinson, Partner at CircleUp Growth Partners. "When Helio first flagged Liquid I.V., we were immediately struck by the company's traction in the market and potential for growth. As we've worked more closely with Brandin and the leadership team over the course of this year, we were impressed by their drive to bring a high-quality product backed by powerful science to battle hydration for everyday consumers. We are thrilled to partner with Liquid I.V. on their next chapter."
The infusion of capital will be used to fuel continued growth, distribution, product innovation and awareness – educating consumers on the many direct benefits they can experience through the brand's key differentiator – CTT. With this clinically tested nutrient delivery system, adding one serving of the Liquid I.V. Hydration Multiplier to 16 oz of water can provide the same hydration as drinking two to three bottles water.
Kygo, who's music has been streamed over 10 billion times on YouTube and Soundcloud alone, garnering a non-stop international tour and fan base, had this to say about his investment and the brand, "I started using Liquid I.V. on tour and can't get enough of it. I couldn't be more excited to partner with this brand and bring healthy hydration to the masses while also giving back to those who need it most." His manager, Myles Shear, found the product, fell in love with it and introduced it to Kygo, "Right when I tried Liquid I.V. I knew it was a winner. It's hard for me to drink enough water when we're on the road, but this solved that issue immediately. Now I'm never dehydrated and I love all 3 flavors. We're going to do some big stuff together."
Dr. Brad Thomas, an orthopedist for the Los Angeles Lakers organization and Medical Director for Liquid I.V. said, "There's no other product on the market like Liquid I.V. The direct benefits on the human body and performance resulting from their Cellular Transport Technology (CTT) are remarkable. CTT delivers water and other key nutrients rapidly into the bloodstream, multiplying hydration levels for accelerated impact. And with 75% of the US population being dehydrated, Liquid I.V. has become a necessity for my patients, team, and family."
Professional athletes are also turning to the brand's Hydration Multiplier as a healthier alternative to traditional sports drinks. "Our nutritionist and trainers are the biggest advocates of Liquid I.V. They have us drink it before games, after games, every flight, basically all the time because hydration is so important for peak performance. Pretty much all the guys in the locker room fell in love with it," said Adam Eaton, centerfielder for MLB's Washington Nationals and newest member of the LIV investment team. "I couldn't be more pumped to be a part of the company and get this product into the hands of serious athletes everywhere."
Since its inception in 2012, Liquid I.V. stays true to their mission to defeat dehydration globally. Through their Giveback Mission, with every purchase on www.liquid-iv.com and Amazon, the company donates one serving of Liquid I.V. to help someone in serious need of hydration around the world. Together, with their customers, they'll donate over 500,000 servings of their Hydration Multiplier by the close of 2018. "Something clicked for us as a business when we distilled our mission down to 1 clear purpose: we call it #CTW or Change the World," said Cohen. "Our team wants to make a positive impact on people around the world and we're not going to stop until we do."
Liquid I.V. is carried in over 20,000 doors across the country comprising of the world's leading specialty, big box and online retailers. The list includes Whole Foods Market, Costco, GNC, CVS, Vons, Albertsons, Safeway, and launching nationally in Kroger and Hudson News later this year. Consumers can look forward to the continued growth of the Liquid I.V. product lineup, which will focus on the expansion of non-GMO health and wellness products featuring CTT to help improve overall performance and wellbeing for the entire family.
About Liquid I.V. Liquid I.V. is a health-science nutrition and wellness company based out of Marina del Rey, CA, created to fuel life's adventures. The product line is great tasting, non-GMO, made in the USA, and utilizes Cellular Transport Technology (CTT)™ to deliver hydration and other key nutrients rapidly into the bloodstream – helping consumers feel better, faster. For more information, please visit www.liquid-iv.com.
About CircleUp CircleUp is the investment platform providing capital and resources to innovative, early-stage consumer brands. All of CircleUp's business units are powered by Helio, its machine learning platform that evaluates 1.4 million businesses to predict future business success. Founded in 2012, CircleUp is backed by Union Square Ventures, GV, Canaan Partners, QED Advisors, and former leaders of Goldman Sachs, Capital One and Stanford Endowment. Learn more at www.circleup.com.
About TQ Ventures TQ Ventures is an early stage fund whose backers include Scooter Braun, Andrew Marks and Schuster Tanger. Learn more at www.tqventures.com.
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