Participated · Series A · Dec 2023

Founded in 2019 by Larry Haertel Jr. and Aaron Telch, Jiant is a Los Angeles-based ready-to-drink alcohol maker focused on hard tea, kombucha, and cocktail-inspired beverages crafted with fresh-brewed tea, real fruit, and botanicals. Its products are distributed across the U.S. through a network of top-tier distributors and retail partners including Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Target, Kroger, Albertsons, Total Wine & More, HEB, Erewhon and Sprouts. The company recently completed a capital raise to support growth initiatives. Management intends to use the proceeds to bolster production capabilities, drive deeper distribution, support new sales channels, and accelerate expansion of its hard tea line. No operating revenue or user metrics were disclosed in the article.

Participated · Series A · Feb 2022

Sanzo produces Asian-inspired, clean-label sparkling waters made with real fruit and no added sugar or artificial flavors, with SKUs including Lychee, Calamansi Lime, Alphonso Mango and Yuzu Ginger. Launched in 2019 by Sandro Roco, the brand positions itself to bridge beloved Asian flavors and mainstream clean-label beverages. Sanzo has achieved distribution in 2,000+ strategic retailers and is rolling out all flavors to Whole Foods Market nationwide (500+ doors). The company reported 5x year-over-year growth in both 2020 and 2021 and a >30% repeat purchase rate in direct-to-consumer sales. Future plans highlighted in the articles include accelerating national retail rollout, limited-time collaborative SKUs tied to cultural moments (e.g., a Turning Red Lychee can), and continued strategic brand partnerships to amplify AAPI representation. Sanzo focuses on cultural resonance and targeted partnerships to expand share within the $10+ billion sparkling water category. Sanzo produces Asian-inspired sparkling water in three core flavors—lychee, alphonso mango, and calamansi—made with real fruit and no added sugars or artificial flavors. The brand sells direct-to-consumer, through food & beverage wholesale distributors, and has launched in retail including Whole Foods. Sanzo reported rapid COVID-era growth, citing a 400% increase in revenue and later reporting >600% growth in its DTC channel that has driven over 4x revenue. The company was self-funded at launch and is operated by a sole founder who remains the only full-time employee. Sanzo’s mission is to bridge cultures by introducing authentic Eastern flavors to a broader audience, and it plans additional retail rollouts in the near term while bolstering e-commerce and digital marketing efforts. The business targets the growing sparkling water market and leverages clean-label, Asian-inspired positioning to capture consumers seeking healthier alternatives.

Participated · Seed · Jun 2021

Better Juice develops an enzymatic, clean-label sugar-reduction technology that uses proprietary beads of non-GMO microorganisms to convert sucrose, glucose and fructose into prebiotic fibers and other non-digestible compounds while preserving vitamins and organic acids. The process enables sugar reduction of 30–80% and has advanced to commercial scale in the U.S., with proof-of-concept work performed with juice manufacturers in the U.S. and Asia. The company has manufacturing collaboration with GEA for its bioreactor and the GEA Better Juice Sugar Converter Skid has been included in GEA’s test center since 2022. Better Juice reports a processing capacity of 250 million liters of sugar-reduced juice per year and has accrued several patents. Founded in 2018 and based in Rehovot, Israel, the company was initially supported by The Kitchen Hub and has raised US$8M in seed-round investments. Better Juice is a Rehovot, Israel-based company that has developed enzymatic technology to reduce all sugars in natural juices. Its non-GMO enzymatic process converts fructose, glucose, and sucrose into prebiotic dietary fibers and other non-digestible molecules. The technology targets orange juice’s specific sugar composition to naturally create a low-calorie, reduced-sugar product with delicate sweetness using all-natural ingredients. The company’s core product is reduced-sugar natural juice produced via enzyme conversion. Better Juice was incubated in The Kitchen Hub (Strauss Group and IIA’s foodtech incubator) and received early funding from Maverick Ventures and other global partners. It raised $8M in seed funding to commercialize and scale production.