Dive Brief:
- Three food and beverage entrepreneurs made Inc.'s annual 30 Under 30 list, a collection of CEOs that span industries.
- Brian Rudolph, 25, is CEO of Banza, a chickpea pasta manufacturing company that offers a gluten-free, low-carb pasta alternative. His company started in his apartment.
- Hillary Lewis, 30, is CEO of Lumi Organics, a cold-pressed organic juice company that has caught the attention of grocery chains, fitness studios, and pro sports teams.
- Tatiana Birgisson, 26, is CEO of Mati Energy, producer of a lightly carbonated fruit juice and guayusa tea blend that creates a hybrid health and energy drink. This product ws born in a dorm room.
Dive Insight:
Banza closed on a $1.3 million seed round last November after a year of promising sales ($1.9 million raised total). Rudolph didn't disclose exact figures but said sales soared by more than 1,500% last year, including placement at major retailers like Whole Foods and Kroger.
Lewis has led Lumi to raise a total of $1.8 million since its 2013 founding, which mirrors the funding successes of other cold-pressed juice brands, such as Suja and Nomva, and the debut of the Naked Pressed line from PepsiCo. These investments are fundamental to running a high-pressure processing-based (HPP) business, as the equipment and labor requirements for processing can be cost-prohibitive for certain companies.
Lumi, which broke $1 million in sales last year, also combines the clean label capabilities of HPP with organic ingredients.
The energy drink market has been a fast-growing category, and manufacturers ranging from startups like Mati Energy to Coca-Cola have identified growth opportunities in this market.
However, major producers in the segment have faced litigation, and trends point to consumers moving away from sugary beverages. Ingredient lists like Mati's could be the answer for Monster and other major energy drink manufacturers.