Bevinc, a Virginia Beach-based early-stage beverage incubator, has been acquired by pharmaceutical research and testing company Ayujoy Herbals Ltd. (AJOY), which operates as Interbrands. The acquisition means the nascent Bevinc will be able to offer members of future cohorts access to national distribution as they scale their beverage brands. From local coolers offering a micro-distribution system to Interbrands’ larger infrastructure, Bevinc has an aggressive vision to transform Virginia into a beverage destination.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Food and beverage manufacturing is the second-largest industry in Virginia and accounts for 17% of manufacturing jobs in the state, according to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. Virginia ABC reported almost $1.5 billion in sales revenue in FY2023. Interbrands’ acquisition is part of a greater growth strategy to help beverage entrepreneurs find collaborators and community support for their brands, executives said.
“We’re trying to plant a flag here,” said Jeff Palumbo, president of AJOY and founder of Bevinc.
With Virginia’s prolific craft brew, cider and canned-cocktail market, Bevinc intends to leverage relationships with municipalities and communities to create an environment that is highly conducive to entrepreneurs.
“We have incredible leadership in the beverage industry in our state and we’d like to be a big part of making Virginia the global destination for spinning up a beverage company,” Palumbo said. “It can happen here.”
Bevinc was initiated several years ago by Palumbo, whose business development experience in Richmond includes co-founding nonprofit incubator NPOLaunchpad and serving as an early mentor at Lighthouse Labs. His passion for community activation has led to Bevinc developing growth-minded connections in canning, product design, education and mentorship. In addition to offering beverage-specific resources, Bevinc is in talks to partner with Norfolk accelerator 757 Collab to offer entrepreneurs access to additional startup resources across the state and beyond. Bevinc is looking to open applications for its first cohort to begin this fall.
With offices in Richmond and Sarasota, Florida, as well as plans to expand to the West Coast, Interbrands is poised to help Bevinc’s most successful brands scale up their production from 10,000 cans per month to the national level and potentially beyond.
“We’re very much rooted in Virginia,” Palumbo said. “Our office and our relationships are here. The civic investment of an incubator’s ability to create jobs is a fraction of that of a conventional program. It’s effective and the long-term benefit to the community is great when we can produce another small beverage company that turns into a 50-plus employee company that stays in our state and does business here.”