Austin, Texas-based hard seltzer brand Mighty Swell has been acquired by Lemonati LLC, according to a press release from buy-side advisory firm Houlihan Lokey.
The transaction closed on July 28. However, the deal announcement was made yesterday by Houlihan Lokey.
Lemonati is described as “the beverage alcohol division of a major international company, recognized globally for its expertise in developing and manufacturing citrus flavors, organic flavors, beverage flavors, essential citrus oils, and other flavors that are applicable across a wide variety of finished food, beverage, and consumer products.”
Houlihan Lokey senior VP Sam Scanlan told Brewbound that family owned Lemonati was looking to create a beverage-alcohol division but instead opted to acquire Mighty Swell and bring CEO Jeana Harrington onto the Lemonati team.
Mighty Swell had been seeking additional funding prior to the sale and was running into issues getting financing and fell behind on paying vendors, which led to a slow down in production, Scanlan said. That opened a door for Houlihan Lokey to broker the deal with Lemonati.
Mighty Swell brand family sales in off-premise retailers tracked by NIQ have declined -19.1%, to around $5.9 million, while volume declined -24% for the 52-week period ending August 12, according to data shared by 3 Tier Beverage. Declines accelerated in the latest four-week period, with dollars -47.8% and volume -50.5%, according to data shared by the firm.
Mighty Swell launched as a wine spritzer brand in 2016 before pivoting to “spiked seltzer” in 2019. The company leaned into unique flavor combinations such as Tiger’s Blood, Purple Magic, Rocket Pop and Pink Colada in addition to more traditional hard seltzer flavors.
In 2021, Mighty Swell announced a multi-year renewal and expansion of its sponsorship of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers through 2024.