This Celebrity-Backed Wellness Startup Just Raised $5M

CALIFORNIA, United States — Liquid I.V., an electrolyte drink mix designed to speed up hydration has raised $5M in funding from high-profile backers including Kevin Hart, Justin Bieber, James Corden, Scooter Braun, Steve Aoki and Serena Williams.

The funds will be strategically utilised by the startup for continued retail growth across the US within Costco, Whole Foods Market, CVS and Amazon, as well as being pumped into studies for future products.

The company, which claims to have generated $100 million in revenue within its first 5 years on the market, is also banking on broadening its reach via celebrity endorsement.

“We can run a Super Bowl commercial about how great our product is, but it’s way more valuable when someone else is talking about it who really believes in what they’re saying,” founder Brandin Cohen told Forbes.

This round “was more about bringing in people who embodied the brand and really wanted to be a part of something bigger than a product, or bigger than themselves,” he added.

Launched by Cohen back in 2012, who started off by selling packets of the electrolyte drink mix out of a Whole Foods in Southern California, Liquid I.V. quickly caught the attention of music manager Scooter Braun, who recently launched a new venture with boutique boxing brand Rumble in the US.

An early investor in the company, Braun has since gone on to leverage his network of high-net-worth celebrities to help propel the startup into its next stage of growth.

According to Braun, Liquid I.V. “has positioned itself to make a major economic and philanthropic impact”.

The mogul added: “Brandin is a brilliant entrepreneur and his vision to build a big business while being of service to others comes to life through Liquid I.V., and is the main reason I introduced the investment opportunity to many of my friends and network.”

For every purchase of Liquid I.V., the brand donates a serving to someone in need around the world –– and its purpose-driven values have helped to position the company as a brand celebrities are choosing to publicly align themselves with. Following the announcement of its latest funding, both Justin Beiber and DJ Khaled took to Instagram to break the news of their involvement to their followers.

Thanks to its new cash infusion, Liquid I.V, which is on track to have donated more than 2 million sticks around the world by the end of 2019, intends to broaden its philanthropic reach with a new initiative to include the construction of schools in impoverished nations to educate underserved communities about health and hydration. And, in doing so it hopes to make a positive impact on even more people around the world.

“It has been an incredible journey to get here, and now to have some of the world’s most influential and important figures behind us — it’s special,” commented Cohen on the news.

“Nothing inspires us more than creating the healthiest, most effective products to help people live better lives, and now we’re able to leverage a universal platform together with our new partners to do it on the largest scale.”