Vive Organic, makers of doctor crafted, cold-pressed wellness shots, announces closing of a $13-million Series B funding round led by Monogram Capital with participation by Cambridge SPG and Powerplant Ventures.
Vive is currently one of the leading functional beverage brands in the market, providing customers with cold-pressed wellness shots that are formulated with a focus on boosting the immune system. The brand has seen explosive growth since inception in 2015, with an average of 400% growth year over year, and has cemented itself as the leader in this space. This backing from industry veterans further validates the growth opportunity within this category and consumer demand more broadly for immunity-boosting products. Vive will deploy this latest capital raised to expand its digital footprint, foster its innovation pipeline and make its plant-powered products more accessible to consumers nationwide.
“Vive has tapped into an incredible opportunity to provide consumers with sustainably sourced, functional products that promote and support wellness needs, whether that be targeting uses case for enhanced immunity, restoration, or energy”
-CEO Wyatt Taubman, COO Kyle
Vive Organic was founded in 2015 by CEO Wyatt Taubman, COO Kyle Withycombe and VP of Sales JR Simich, health-conscious friends and entrepreneurs. The brand was inspired by Taubman’s personal experience taking a ginger and turmeric shot from a local farmers market to help him overcome a cold during a business trip. The trio recognized there was rising consumer interest in wellness shots and saw an opportunity to develop an industry leading brand designed to support and motivate consumers to proactively boost their immune system. The company works with a team of holistic medicine doctors in its formulation and goes to great lengths to identify the very best ingredients globally, with an emphasis on sourcing some of the purest ginger, turmeric, elderberry and other immunity enhancing ingredients anywhere in the world. Vive leverages cold-pressed technology to extract juice from the roots, herbs and flowers used in their products to provide the freshest product with maximum health benefits. The company’s beverages are organic, non-GMO, gluten free and vegan. Beginning with a focus on the natural channel, Vive has expanded to meet rising demand from customers in 8,000 doors across natural, conventional, mass and drugstore accounts including key banners such as Whole Foods, Sprouts, Safeway, Wegman’s, Target, and CVS.
In February 2020, the brand launched on Amazon and built a direct-to-consumer platform from the ground-up, adding subscription services and extending the brand’s reach to include the entire United States. Over the last several months Vive’s e-commerce sales have increased by 52 times, with production increasing fivefold to allow the brand to keep up with climbing demand at retail. When Taubman set out to raise the Series B, his primary objective was to ensure that Vive could continue to supply its loyal customers during this seminal time in which wellness is their top priority. Armed with a strong balance sheet and investor support network, Vive is well-positioned to capitalize on its vision.
“We feel so fortunate to have found such exceptional partners in Monogram, Cambridge SPG, Powerplant Ventures and our roster of investors,” said Wyatt Taubman, CEO and Co-Founder of Vive Organics. “We have a powerful product that we believe in deeply, which is quickly becoming the go-to for immunity boosting in lieu of other traditional beverages, powders and supplement solutions. We are very proud of what we’ve created and greatly value the expertise our investors will provide in this next stage of our business as we look to further develop our online offerings and find new, unique ways to connect with consumers at retail.”
Monogram Capital seeks opportunities to partner with founders and strong management teams of high growth brands to help them become the next generation of brand leaders in their respective categories. Current and realized investments include Country Archer Provisions, Chewy.com, Koia, Olipop, 4th & Heart, Kidfresh and more.
“Vive has tapped into an incredible opportunity to provide consumers with sustainably sourced, functional products that promote and support wellness needs, whether that be targeting uses case for enhanced immunity, restoration, or energy,” said Jared Stein, Co-Founder and Partner of Monogram Capital. “We are thrilled to join together with this pioneering brand at this prescient time where consumers have never been more focused on their health and wellness needs and prioritizing their immunity. Led by an outstanding team, Vive is at the forefront of providing these wellness solutions in a convenient, ready-to-drink format that consumers love and we look forward to continue supporting the brand through their new innovations to come.”
For more information on Vive Organic, please visit www.vive-organic.com.
About Vive Organic
Vive Organic is the pioneer in cold pressed and plant-powered 2oz ready-to-drink wellness shots made from organic and sustainably sourced super-herbs. With the first function-focused shots on the market and the only ones formulated by a team of doctors, the Venice, California based brand strives in harnessing the power of nature’s most powerful ingredients for consumers seeking easy yet potent solutions to their daily wellness routines. The brand currently produces eight functional formulations including Immunity Boost, Wellness Rescue, Antioxidant Detox, and more. For more information on Vive Organic, please visit www.vive-organic.com.
About Monogram Capital
Headquartered in Los Angeles, CA and founded in 2014, Monogram Capital Partners has approximately $300 million in equity capital under management and focuses exclusively on investing in emerging consumer brands. The firm seeks opportunities to partner with Founders and strong management teams of category leading brands to help foster their strategic expansion into new product innovation and to reach customers across new channels/geographies. The investment into Vive represents the firm’s thirty-second investment across twenty platform portfolio companies. To learn more about Monogram, please visit: www.monogramcapital.com.
About Cambridge SPG
Cambridge Companies SPG (“Special Projects Group”) is a strategic opportunity investment firm founded by Filipp Chebotarev and Polina Chebotareva. Cambridge SPG has been an investor in Vive Organic since early 2018 and continues to believe that immunity building behavior and products will occupy the mindshare of consumers of an entire generation. More information on Cambridge Companies SPG can be found on their website www.cambridgespg.com.
About PowerPlant Ventures
PowerPlant Ventures (PPV) is a growth equity fund committed to transforming the world’s health through the power of people, plants and purpose-driven companies. For more information about the fund visit www.powerplantvc.com.
