Concentrated coffee brand Explorer raises $2.5 million in seed round.
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Explorer, a Brooklyn-based coffee concentration startup founded by mountaineer and former Bain & Company consultant Cason Crane, further strengthens its distribution partnership with Delta Air Lines.
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And in 2023, we will enter the retail business.
These plans will be supported by the company’s recently closed $2.5 million seed round, co-led by NewBound Ventures and Table Management, the family office of billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman. Additional investors include Covet PR founder Sara Brooks. Raphael Farasat, founder and CEO of Truffl Agency. Drizly co-founder Justin Robinson. Lori Cashman, General Partner at Victorress Capital. So does CPG Advisor Timo Weiland.
Crane, who claims to be the first openly LGBTQ person to summit Everest and the Seven Summits to raise awareness for the Trevor Project, has taken the plunge during the pandemic to channel his energies as an endurance athlete. Created explorer and realized how concentrated coffee prices are in particular. The company is doing well in e-commerce, which reportedly made more than 1400% revenue last year.
“Concentrates offer strong unit economics online as more servings can be packed into a single bottle and are shipped more sustainably as they have a lower carbon footprint.” Crane explained. “My research at Bain also validated the entry of cold brew.”
Both the cold brew and coffee concentrate sectors are growing rapidly, with coffee consumption at home beginning to rise during the pandemic and more consumers seeking convenient brewing options. Market research firm Fact.MR estimates that the global coffee concentrate market will be worth $1.23 billion in 2022 and will grow at a CAGR of 24.47% over the next decade to $11 billion. Estimated to reach close.
Big players such as Chameleon Cold Brew (a former Nestlé subsidiary recently acquired by SYSTM Foods) have championed the concentrated coffee sector for years, but newer players such as Jot are also rapidly making their presence felt. Expanding.
Co-founded by REBBL’s Palo Hawken and Square Organics’ Andrew Gordon, Jot previously received venture backing from Great Oaks Venture Capital, Powerplant Ventures, BFG Partners, and 77 Ventures and Whalebone Ventures, PitchBook shows. . New England coffee giant Dunkin also revealed plans to launch a liquid concentrate this spring.
Coffee concentrates are growing in popularity among coffee drinkers at home.
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To stand out among its competitors, Explorer concentrates all organic, fair trade, and specialty grade coffee beans in a 1:4 ratio, then roasts, brews, and bottles them at a third-party manufacturer in Texas. said Crane. The company is also one of the few to offer four levels of caffeine through its various SKUs, which range from decaf to the equivalent of three and a half shots of espresso with added caffeine.
“We only use the finest ingredients,” Crane says.
Over the past year, Explorer has added several new items to its range, including a cold brew 4-pack gift box, a functional elixir, and a 16 oz chai concentrate. A shopper’s home drinking experience.
“We are now about 70% e-commerce and 30% hospitality, wholesale and B2B with Delta’s coastal and long haul Honolulu flights,” he said. “Our plan is to grow the pie so that by the end of next year our natural and specialty retailers are on par with our e-commerce business in terms of growth rates. To that end, we’re unveiling a beautiful new look to coincide with the retail launch.”
“For me, Explorer means more than just a business,” added Crane. “Our customers appreciate exploration and are happy to try something new in their daily lives.”