Three Spirit has announced the closure of its $3M Series A round of VC funding led by CircleUp Growth Partners, the early-stage consumer packaged goods investment fund.
Created by a team of world-class bartenders and plant scientists, Three Spirit offers an award-winning portfolio of non-alcoholic spirit alternatives that deliver on both function and flavor. The seed round will fund investment in the US market, specifically in manufacturing, building the team and continuing scientific research. This will also support a new functional alternative wine/RTD range made with their current approach; rather than removing alcohol, Three Spirit uses functional ingredients and innovative processes to develop layer after layer of complexity and texture.
“CircleUp is our dream partner,” explains co-founder Meeta Gournay. “Their data-driven approach to growing consumer brands aligns with ours. The team’s knowledge of the beverage, non-alcoholic, consumer and wellness industries is second to none. Given we are a UK founded business, CircleUp is perfectly positioned to support Three Spirit from our strong start in the US and accelerate the brand in a thoughtful and meaningful way.”
Since its US launch in January 2021, Three Spirit has grown impressively. The direct-to-consumer drinks business has developed a cult following and its range has been sold out on a few occasions, initiating a waiting list in the thousands for its line of alcohol-free spirits. In its third month in the market, Three Spirit generated a six-figure monthly revenue, and between launch and August 2021, the London-based brand experienced 11x growth in US sales.
“New product development is at the heart of all that we do at Three Spirit,” adds co-founder and head alchemist Dash Lilley. “This fantastic partnership will help us accelerate and scale our exciting new product plans that we hope will redefine what’s possible in the nonalcoholic wine space as well as adult RTD’s.”
What sets Three Spirit apart? Function and flavor. Gournay and Lilley along with co-founder Tatiana Mercer are on a mission to show that alcohol-free does not mean pleasure-free. While other NA spirits imitate the taste of and appearance of distilled spirits, Three Spirit produces premium, botanical drinks with enough flavor to be sipped straight, or in cocktails, and active adaptogenic ingredients to change states, enhance moods and ultimately make you feel better.
“The pandemic has made self-care, food as medicine and quality connection more important than ever. The demand for compelling alcohol alternatives is colliding with wider wellness aspirations,” says Mercer. We are living in a “feelings” economy. Consumers are seeking products and experiences that reduce stress, anxiety, improve sleep, boost mood and ultimately make them feel better.“The future is functional and we are excited to show how Three Spirit and our botanical alchemy can answer that call.”
“Helio, our proprietary data and insights platform, identified the unique demand for alcohol alternatives and wellness consumer products, which set Three Spirit apart from other non-alch spirits in this emerging category,” said Karen Howland, Managing Director at CircleUp. “We are thrilled to welcome Meeta, Tatiana, Dash, and the rest of the Three Spirit team to the CircleUp community and are excited to be part of the journey to put spirit into the non-alcoholic beverage market.”
Three Spirit’s collection of vegan, gluten-free social elixirs includes Livener, Social Elixir and Nightcap, with a new line of functional alt wines/RTDs planned for early 2022. While born as a direct-to-consumer brand, Three Spirit has found success in some of the world’s best bars, including The Dead Rabbit in New York and Connaught in the UK, and is currently available in select retailers across the nation as well as popular culinary and lifestyle e-commerce site Food52.
For more information, head over to Three Spirit’s official website.
