Less than a year after receiving investments from a host of celebrities and venture firms, Atlanta beverage startup Lemon Perfect has raised more money.
There were 76 investors involved in the most recent, $36 million round, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The current round will once again include celebrity investors, a spokesperson told Atlanta Inno. The startup aims to raise another $2 million in the current round.
The spokesperson has not immediately responded to follow-up questions regarding how the funds will be used and who the specific investors are.
The latest raise brings the company’s total funding to at least $78 million. Investors of the Lemon Perfect's prior, $31 million funding round announced last May came from Beyoncé, notable NBA athletes and a famous comedian. Venture firms such as Beechwood Capital, Goat Rodeo Capital, Melitas Ventures, Nns Capital and Trousdale Ventures also participated.
Beyoncé also posted several photos on Instagram with the Lemon Perfect beverage in 2020.
The $36 million raise is the largest investment amount for an Atlanta company since plastic recycler Nexus Circular raised $150 million from Cox Enterprises Inc. at the beginning of January. The round comes as investors have shifted their focus from growth to profitability, which has led to dwindling funding for startups and layoffs from tech companies that are trying to cut costs. Georgia companies raised around half the venture capital in 2022 they did the prior year.
Lemon Perfect’s product is flavored lemon water without sugar or artificial flavors. It contains organic lemons, electrolytes from potassium and vitamin C. As of the middle of 2022, Lemon Perfect was distributed in 25,000 locations. It had planned to reach 40,000 by the end of 2022, the company previously told Atlanta Inno.
The company was founded by Yanni Hufnagel, a former assistant men’s basketball coach for the college teams such as Harvard Crimson, Vanderbilt Commodores, UC Berkeley Golden Bears and Nevada Wolfpack.
In early 2021, the company moved its headquarters to Atlanta from a suburb of San Diego, California. Its office is located in the Stockyards development in West Midtown.
Clarification: A previous version of this article misstated that celebrity investors had already participated in the investment.
