Bold Drinks is to use fresh funding on supporting production and opening new markets as the Danish iced coffee start-up looks to compete for consumers with energy drinks.
The company has raised DKr4.5m (circa $667,000) in its latest round of funding following a rebrand last year.
Bold Drinks offers four variations of iced espresso RTDs and most recently received investment from Danish investors Jack Hjeronymus and Younes Deaibes.
CEO Lasse Søkilde secured an initial investment in 2021 on Løvens Hule, the Danish version of Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank, where entrepreneurs seek funding from successful investors.
“The money will be used to really finance the growth,” Emil Von Der Fehr, chief marketing officer and partner of Bold Drinks, told Just Drinks.
“As a small company, having cash flow out, manufacturing products and ordering new products up to a high season is capital heavy. That’s one of the things that we will use it for but also driving further investments together with customers and also opening up new markets. We have recently started up with 600 stores in Norway and are looking into entry into further Nordic markets within the coming year.”
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By GlobalDataBold Drinks expects to have its first profitable year in 2023 as first-quarter sales have been “above budget”, he noted, without disclosing details.
Von Der Fehr noted the company has gathered some interest in the UK and Germany but, recognising those markets’ greater size, said the company will wait for “the right moment” to expand beyond the Nordic markets.
Bold Drinks says the functionality of its products comes through the natural caffeine from three espresso shots per can. Von Der Fehr emphasised what he sees as the benefits of natural caffeine ahead of synthetic caffeine in most energy drinks.
“It [iced coffee] solves the basic fundamental desire for more energy, for this caffeine craze to live our busy lives. Many people reject energy drinks due to their synthetic caffeine and their whole branding profile. This is where iced coffee goes in and solves that issue for many people,” he explained.
“We are often referred to as the energy drink that the adult and quality minded has been waiting for, a natural source of energy. Energy drinks are often referred to as a bit juvenile.”
According to Von Der Fehr, Danish dairy giant Arla Foods – which manufactures chilled on-the-go coffee for Starbucks – has forecast the iced coffee category will grow at a 20% CAGR over the next ten years. Last year, Arla announced plans to increase the production capacity of a factory in Denmark that makes the drinks by 20%.
“The iced coffee category is expected in these regions of the world to really accelerate and keep accelerating,” Von Der Fehr said. “We have seen this in Denmark; the category has doubled within just two years and we see the same average growth numbers in other markets.”
Bold Drinks, which employs four staff, uses a co-manufacturer in Germany, relying “on heavily integrated partners”, he added.
Earlier this month, in a sign of corporate interest in the product area, Nestlé announced it was set to launch a form of instant coffee in China and Mexico: Nescafé Ice Roast, a cold instant-coffee product.
