JuneShine is a hard-kombucha company that has raised $24 Million in a Series B round to increase its business. The company plans to enter new alcohol categories that are better for you in 2022 and launch passion projects through celebrity partnerships.
JuneShine’s investors Amberstone, Litani Ventures, and Peter Rahal (founder of RXBar) led the new round. It was closed after JuneShine saw revenues triple between 2019 & 2020 and double in the year following.
Amberstone, based in San Francisco and has a valuation of $45,000,000, has previously sold Chameleons, Cold Brew, from Nestle. It currently has nine active investments as per PitchBook. Litani Ventures and Villam Ventures, both launched by Jared Smith (RXBar cofounder), collectively invested $3.5 Million.
JuneShine has been selling organic hard Kombucha (4.2%-6.0% ABV since 2018) and plans to use this fund to support the construction of its first bricks-and-mortar tasting room outside California.
Its passion project series is a collection featuring flavors designed by celebrities ambassadors such as Whitney Cummings and Cody Ko, Cody Ko, Ali Krieger, and Ty Haney.
Amberstone partner Nick Mindel stated that JuneShine is a category-defining name that doesn’t happen very often. “The brand’s drive is based on a team who has brought transparency and better options to the alcohol segment. And they are just scratching their surface at what they can achieve.”
Rahal also stated that JuneShine has the best team in the industry, making it very easy to invest. JuneShine’s value has reached $80m after its last fundraise.
Forrest Dein (cofounder of JuneShine) stated, “We plan on double our revenue again by 2022 fueled through our growth grocery store retailers and new product line innovations.”
Todd Karnig (Chief Commercial Officer) also noted how hard Kombucha has performed in first-movers. JuneShine is well-positioned to drive the category’s growth.
Karnig stated, “As the top brand in this category,” “we made large distribution gains in the Fall retail sets, and expect bigger wins in spring.”
He said, “Our chain placements have risen 91%, and our volume of chains has risen 145%.” JuneShine has found that Grocery is an excellent fit as our packaging innovations and flavor offerings get more attention. We focus on retailers and delivering beyond their expectations.
