Cusa Tea, the instant tea company whose products can be found in outdoor specialty stores, has completed a $2.5 million Series A round of financing.
Break Trail Ventures and S Cap led the investment round, with participation from existing and new investors, including Organic X Labs, Smart Capital and Service Provider’s Capital.
The investment brings Cusa Tea’s total funding since launching its revolutionary beverage platform to $3.6 million and will help the company aggressively expand its distribution, sales and marketing efforts, as well as broaden and accelerate product development.
Jay Hirsch of Break Trail Ventures and James Cali of S Cap will join Cusa Tea’s Board of Directors.
“Break Trail Ventures is excited to collaborate with and support Cusa Tea as they continue to scale the brand and redefine what it means to be an instant beverage,” said Jay Hirsch, manager of Break Trail Ventures. “They have an incredibly strong brand with a great shelf presence that is shaking up the tea space. Cusa Tea removes the sacrifices that usually come with any instant product by delivering for customers a better, more consistent and more convenient cup of tea. We are excited to see them continue to leverage their IP to deliver superior instant tea and other products to customers who shouldn’t need to choose between convenience and quality.”
S Cap founder Jim Cali said, “Cusa Tea is a breakthrough in the tea category and offers the potential for disruption across the broader healthy beverage market. We have found it to be a superior cup of hot tea, winning medals at the Global Tea Championship versus the best loose leaf and bag competitors in the world. It also mixes quickly in cold water, transforming a bottle of water into a superior iced tea drink. Given its taste, versatility and clean label, there is nothing like it on the market. We see huge potential for Cusa as a platform extending its reach in the broader functional and refreshment beverage space. S CAP is thrilled to part of the Cusa Tea team.”
The Series A financing builds on an exceptional first two years for Cusa Tea. Since launching in 2017, the company has rapidly expanded to over 1,400 retail locations with partners like Sprouts, REI, King Soopers, Safeway, HEB and Cost Plus World Market.
Cusa Tea also has a robust direct-to-consumer business with its own website and a registered brand store on Amazon.com. The company has commitments from over 3,000 new retailers to launch in Q3 and Q4 2019.
“This funding comes at a perfect time,” said Jim Lamancusa, founder and CEO of Cusa Tea. “Adding this many new retailers and new products in such a short period of time is very expensive. Our Series A will allow me to expand our team, support our existing retailers, grow into new retailers, as well as launch some exciting new products. Our technology can be used for all beverages, not just tea, so we look forward to bringing other heathy and convenient beverages to the market very soon.”
