All Market Inc., parent company of Vita Coco, has acquired Runa, an organic energy drink company that uses the caffeine-producing guayusa leaf in its brew.
While terms of the deal were not disclosed, those within Runa said the move would help the company expand its distribution outside of specialty stores and into "conventional channels."
Runa is currently Brooklyn-based, but it was first conceptualized in 2009 by friends Tyler Gage and Dan MacCombie during their time at Brown University. Their work with Runa eventually garnered them a spot on Forbes' 2012 "30 Under 30: Food and Wine" list.
And considerable investment. Since its inception, the company has raised $5.8 million in two separate rounds. The Ecuadorian government, which had served on its board of directors, provided $500,000 in seed capital to Runa, with an additional Ministry of Production-borne $500,000 infusion three years later. BevNET reports that a Yale School of Management case study found that Ecuador "had a 35 percent stake in Runa’s Ecuador subsidiary."
Runa has also gained its fair share of U.S.-based investors. There's Vita Coco co-founder and CEO Michael Kirban, who has served as both an advisory board member and investor in the company since 2014; coconut water brand Zico founder Mark Rampolla; Tim Sullivan, formerly of PepsiCo, who also served as Runa's interim CEO; TSG Consumer Partners' former managing director, Brian Krumrei; and Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Channing Tatum.
“I think Runa is perfectly positioned as an organic, better-for-you energy drink that can really challenge in this space,” said Kirban in an interview with BevNET.com.
The company will launch in three markets in September, the locations of which haven't yet been divulged.
“We will be going really deep in those markets with distribution and marketing across multiple platforms,” Kirban continued. “The goal is to start a national launch of the brand in March 2019.”
Additionally, he said that the company is planning an update of its current can.
It's not the only thing getting an update: There will be shakeups to company leadership, with Runa's current board of directors becoming the AMI board, Kirban told BevNET. He will help the company scale as its general manager, with co-founder Gage working to facilitate Runa's Ecuadorian efforts. The on-the-ground supply chain will stay as-is, while AMI's 150-strong sales team, will also work with Runa.
Gage added that the acquisition was a good move for the company.
“I’ve gotten to know the Vita Coco guys and I think they are a great fit to take Runa to the next level,” Gage told BevNET.
