Austin's built a reputation as a beverage town. From Tito's to Deep Eddy, local entrepreneurs seem to have a knack for building boozy brands.
Now one of the newest entrants into the mixed drink space is ready to add its name to the list of local brands with a strong national reputation.
Austin canned cocktail startup Canteen Spirits and Cantina, which makes a variety of fruity vodka sodas, announced April 16 that it has raised a $31 million round of equity and debt funding led by ATX Global Co-invest, which is part of ATX Venture Partners.
Canteen launched in 2019. It has reached shelves in all 50 states, as well as via alcohol delivery app Drizly, and it says it sold 517,000 cases of its canned cocktails in 2020.
The startup also previously secured a long list of noteworthy angel investors, including Brooklyn Decker and Andy Roddick, as well as country singer Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd.
Along with the national expansion, Canteen, led by CEO Brandon Cason, is planning to open a 50,000-square-foot production center in Southwest Austin, which will be fully operational in June.
Cason previously co-founded Waterloo Sparkling Water and was part of the Deep Eddy team. Now, it appears the founder is poised to bring his latest company to a similar stature.
The company said last year that it started becoming profitable less than a year after launching its products, and Cason projected the company would end last year with $15 million in revenue.
But there's plenty of competition on shelves, both locally and nationally.
Last year, Austin Cocktails launched its new line of canned cocktails across at least 14 states. Meanwhile, Uncle Billy's, Mighty Swell and others are carving out their own spots with consumers and distributors. And, in 2020 and 2021, industry giant White Claw became a primary sponsor of Austin's South By Southwest festival.
