BeatBox, makers of a ready-to-drink (RTD) alcoholic fruit punch, just hit a $200 million valuation at the close of its $15 million raise aimed at expanding its national retail partnerships.
The raise, announced in mid-October, was led by Concentric Equity Partners, a private equity investment firm based in Chicago.
“We invest in people. From the first meeting with Aimy [Steadman], Brad [Schultz], and Justin [Fenchel], it was clear they were special,” said Todd Paul of Concentric, who was also named BeatBox’s newest board member. “BeatBox’s growth potential was evident. The entire Beatbox team has been doing amazing things for years, it is exciting that everyone else is starting to see it.”
The funds will go towards doubling the company’s headcount — which is up to 75 employees — and tripling the marketing budget next year in an effort to reach more national outlets. First up is 7-Eleven, which is now carrying the wine-based punch in multiple states. BeatBox is distributed in 40,000 retail locations and is pushing to meet nearly 70,000 monthly accounts in the next year.
“Our next goal is to be a $100 million revenue business and be in the top five RTDs in the country. Based on our current rate of sale, even a little bit lower than our current sale, at 67,794 buying accounts per month we’re a $100 million business,” said Fenchel, co-founder and CEO.
Fresh off a second appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank in September, the company has had a unique trajectory since it first gained attention on the entrepreneur competition show in 2014 and earned a $1 million investment from host and billionaire Mark Cuban. In 2021, the company grew from a $7 million to $18 million business, doubling its annual shipments for the second year in a row, and is on track to ship about 1.9 million cases this year.
BeatBox launched long before next-gen alcoholic RTDs rose to mainstream popularity, and has defied the segment’s trends toward seltzer and now spirit-based canned cocktails. Much of that has to do with the brand’s positioning, which focuses on millennial and Gen Z consumers. A prominent partner of music festivals, BeatBox took its pre-pandemic marketing budget and poured it into social channels during lockdown, crafting everything from product collaborations with TikTok stars to virtual house parties with its DJ investors.
The company has nearly 190,000 followers across Instagram, TikTok and Twitter, and a Discord community of more than 3,500 members who identify as “BeatBox fam” and meet in person at festivals. Many of those followers are investors as well — the company has raised $2.5 million across two crowdfunding campaigns. While the founders have been specific about targeting certain demographics, it’s the focus on building community on the ground that has grown its following, according to Steadman, co-founder and COO.
“We’re not trying to market to people, we’re just being ourselves but as a company basically, and I think that’s just a lot more resonant,” she said.
Now the fast growing beverage brand on social media is aiming to meet its demand through new outlets.
“We are still only about one-seventh of all the stores we can be in in the U.S. alone,” Steadman added. “So we’re still just trying to meet all the people searching for it on the store locator after they see it online or hear about it from a friend or try it at a music festival.”
Just like the pandemic boosted RTD sales as a whole, BeatBox came into 2021 on a high after doubling its business in 2020. Since the end of pandemic lockdowns, the company has been back at festivals and working on growing distribution. In the last 18 months, it has expanded distribution into all six New England states and launched in liquor stores in New York, marking the company’s 47th distribution state. The push includes entertainment and sports venues such as Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and earning placement as the official party punch of Oklahoma State University Athletics and the Alabama Crimson Tide.
“We want to be the fun brand that’s there at moments where people are having a great time, and there are so many more occasions than just festivals. Next year you’ll see us do a lot more of that to expand our reach,” Fenchel said.