Tampa beverage company raises $70M, attains $1B valuation

Cirkul, a Tampa beverage company that makes environmentally friendly flavor cartridges and reusable water bottles, has raised $70 million in a Series C round led by SC Holdings, a New York private equity firm.

According to a news release, Cirkul — founded in 2018 by Garrett Waggoner and Andy Gay, who got the idea for Cirkul's products while they were students at Dartmouth College — has also reached a pre-money valuation of $1 billion. Walmart stocks the company’s products in 4,200 stores across the country.

“Consumers are driving major shifts in the beverage industry, increasingly focused on health and reducing their environmental impact, but aren’t willing to compromise on convenience or delicious flavor,” Waggoner states in the release. “Cirkul’s platform for delivering delicious, personalized and better-for-you beverages has seen a tremendous response from customers. The sales velocities at Walmart and Bed, Bath & Beyond have been incredible especially while maintaining strong growth for our direct-to-consumer business. This fundraise will help us capitalize on the strong customer demand for our products, which are tailor-made for today’s consumer.”

Cirkul, the release states, has been growing at a rate of more than 150% per year since its launch in 2018 and has been profitable for the past two years, and it has more than 500 employees.

“We’re thrilled to partner with and support the team at Cirkul. The company combines a truly innovative product, cultural relevance with more than 1 billion TikTok video views, a passionate community, and an impressive omnichannel distribution strategy,” SC Holdings Managing Partner Dan Haimovic states in the release. “There’s an investor appetite for companies like Cirkul that combine proprietary innovation with a business model that drives incredible growth, capital efficiency and profitability.”