Mooala, a Dallas-based dairy-free beverage company, announced that it has completed an $8.3 million Series A investment round. The round raises Mooala’s total funding to more than $13 million.
The new financing was led by Sweat Equities, a food + bev investment firm, along with Series Seed lead investor M3 Ventures and participation from other firms and family offices. The new capital is intended to support Mooala expanding into new markets, accelerating product development, and adding to its workforce.
“We are thrilled to expand our relationship with Sweat Equities,” said Jeff Richards, CEO and founder of Mooala, in a statement. “Charlie has been involved in the healthy food and beverage space for more than 20 years and his firm brings tremendous operational and strategic expertise to our plant-based platform.”
The startup, founded in 2016, is having a strong year with net sales expected to double over 2018. Mooala, pronounced “moo-ah-luh,” aimed to give customers a new choice in dairy-free beverages when it launched. The product’s recipes use pure, simple, and organic ingredients, coupled with fun packaging.
Mooala’s products, such as plant based Bananamilk, are sold in more than 2,500 stores including Whole Foods, Safeway, Kroger, Wegmans and Costco. That number is even expected to reach 3,500 stores by January 2020.
The company’s latest move was releasing organic almond and coconut creamers to take advantage of the fast-growing plant-based grocery category.
“We were attracted to Mooala given its success rapidly disrupting the mainstream marketplace with best-in-class, organic, plant-based dairy alternatives,” said Charlie Sweat, managing partner of Sweat Equities, LLC. “We look forward to leveraging our operating experience as Mooala enters its next phase of growth.”
Mooala’s early capital came from M3 Ventures and friends and family investments. Sweat Equities brought its experience in the food, beverage, and consumer goods sector to the Series A round.
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