Investments
17Portfolio Exits
4Funds
2Partners & Customers
4About First Beverage Group
First Beverage Group advises and invests in innovative and transformational beverage brands. Through its investment bank and private equity fund, First Beverage Group helps beverage companies grow and stand out in a dynamic and competitive industry. First Beverage forms true partnerships with clients by leveraging both financial and intellectual capital. Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Boston and New York, the First Beverage team is made up of entrepreneurial senior beverage executives with over 200 years of industry experience.
First Beverage Group Headquarter Location
1150 Santa Monica Blvd Suite 1425
Los Angeles, California, 90025,
United States
310-481-5100
Expert Collections containing First Beverage Group
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Find First Beverage Group in 1 Expert Collection, including Food & Beverage .
Food & Beverage
123 items
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Latest First Beverage Group News
Nov 21, 2019
First Beverage Group Enters CBD Stakes With Mad Tasty 0 Shares First Beverage Group is getting into the CBD business with today’s announcement of its investment in Mad Tasty, a line of infused sparkling waters backed by Interscope Records recording artist Ryan Tedder, lead singer of the group One Republic. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed. As part of the deal, Tedder retains majority ownership of Mad Tasty, while First Beverage will have the ability to make further investment in the company in the future. “We have been eager to invest in this space but we were determined to wait for the right opportunity,” said First Beverage founder and CEO Bill Anderson in a press release. “We believe Mad Tasty is positioned for explosive growth and are very excited to partner with them.” Now available online and at select retailers in the Los Angeles metro area, Mad Tasty comes in two flavors — Grapefruit and Watermelon Kiwi — each infused with 20 mg of broad-spectrum hemp extract per 12 oz. can. The product is manufactured using proprietary water-soluble emulsion technology from Seattle-based SoRSE Technology. In a press release, Tedder said Mad Tasty was partially inspired to launch the brand by his own struggles with dehydration and anxiety attacks. “Americans have an epidemic of dehydration and too much coffee and stress – I wanted to tackle all of it for ME – with one beverage and without sugar,” said co-founder Ryan Tedder. “I also had countless friends and family around me experiencing and exclaiming the health benefits of hemp extract. Having battled anxiety and panic attacks myself in 2017, I started using hemp extract and wanted a way to take it every day without the terrible taste of existing beverages on the market.” Speaking with BevNET on Tuesday, First Beverage chairman Jack Belsito said that the group explored “the entire landscape” of cannabis products, including THC-infused drinks, before deciding to focus on just CBD. He noted that the firm doesn’t typically invest in brands pre-launch, but its belief in both Mad Tasty’s brand equity and the category’s rapid growth prospects was impetus enough to get involved earlier rather than later. Belsito also noted that Tedder’s passion for the project — along with potential synergies with Interscope, including the potential some of the label’s other artists and resources could bring to the brand — helped push the deal over the line. First Beverage had been in ongoing discussions with Interscope about “several potential opportunities to collaborate on a brand,” he said, before the label broached the possibility of working with Tedder on Mad Tasty. “(Tedder) brings a lot to the party, not just in his ability to sort of communicate en masse but really as a visionary for the brand,” he said. “He’s got a band that tours around the world, he appears on the Today Show, he’s got his own on NBC on Tuesday nights called ‘Songland.’ He’s a visible character and, combined with Interscope’s ability to breakthrough on the event level — whether it’s Coachella, SXSW or any of those arenas that they bring a big party to — we now can be involved with them on that. We think that’s a real advantage in a crowded field.” Like others in the nascent CBD category, Belsito said Mad Tasty will take scale incrementally, starting by seeding with retailers in key markets like California and Texas. “We see that behavior being very consistent with refreshment beverages in general,” he said. “We see a reasonably traditional approach here. It’s going to look a lot like a soft drink or a non-carbonated product. It’s going to grow in DSD to some level of account acceptance, and at some point the chains will come in and we’ll decide how to go route-to-market with them. Right now we are using third-party DSD in a couple of markets basically to launch the product in a way that we can be successful, and then we’ll build from there.”
First Beverage Group Investments
17 Investments
First Beverage Group has made 17 investments. Their latest investment was in Laws Whiskey House as part of their Private Equity - II on December 12, 2021.
First Beverage Group Investments Activity
Date | Round | Company | Amount | New? | Co-Investors | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12/30/2021 | Private Equity - II | Laws Whiskey House | $7.59M | No | 1 | |
12/17/2019 | Corporate Minority | Mad Tasty | Yes | 1 | ||
10/10/2018 | Private Equity - II | VitaCup | No | 1 | ||
6/29/2018 | Private Equity | |||||
3/1/2018 | Private Equity |
Date | 12/30/2021 | 12/17/2019 | 10/10/2018 | 6/29/2018 | 3/1/2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Private Equity - II | Corporate Minority | Private Equity - II | Private Equity | Private Equity |
Company | Laws Whiskey House | Mad Tasty | VitaCup | ||
Amount | $7.59M | ||||
New? | No | Yes | No | ||
Co-Investors | |||||
Sources | 1 | 1 | 1 |
First Beverage Group Portfolio Exits
4 Portfolio Exits
First Beverage Group has 4 portfolio exits. Their latest portfolio exit was Essentia Water on March 05, 2021.
Date | Exit | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Acquirer | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
3/5/2021 | Acquired | 13 | |||
Date | 3/5/2021 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Exit | Acquired | |||
Companies | ||||
Valuation | ||||
Acquirer | ||||
Sources | 13 |
First Beverage Group Acquisitions
1 Acquisition
First Beverage Group acquired 1 company. Their latest acquisition was Health-Ade Kombucha on August 17, 2021.
Date | Investment Stage | Companies | Valuation Valuations are submitted by companies, mined from state filings or news, provided by VentureSource, or based on a comparables valuation model. | Total Funding | Note | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8/17/2021 | Debt | $58.75M | Acq - Fin | 1 |
Date | 8/17/2021 |
---|---|
Investment Stage | Debt |
Companies | |
Valuation | |
Total Funding | $58.75M |
Note | Acq - Fin |
Sources | 1 |
First Beverage Group Fund History
2 Fund Histories
First Beverage Group has 2 funds, including First Beverage Ventures II.
Closing Date | Fund | Fund Type | Status | Amount | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7/14/2017 | First Beverage Ventures II | Diversified Private Equity | Closed | $64M | 2 |
First Beverage Ventures |
Closing Date | 7/14/2017 | |
---|---|---|
Fund | First Beverage Ventures II | First Beverage Ventures |
Fund Type | Diversified Private Equity | |
Status | Closed | |
Amount | $64M | |
Sources | 2 |
First Beverage Group Partners & Customers
4 Partners and customers
First Beverage Group has 4 strategic partners and customers. First Beverage Group recently partnered with Four Peaks Brewery on January 1, 2016.
Date | Type | Business Partner | Country | News Snippet | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1/6/2016 | Client | United States | First Beverage Group Acts as Financial Advisor to Four Peaks Brewing Company. `` Over the past twenty years the Four Peaks team has built a tremendous craft brewery and pub operation in their home state of Arizona , '' said Nicole Fry , managing partner of First Beverage Group . | 1 | |
9/15/2015 | Partner | ||||
9/22/2014 | Client | ||||
9/11/2008 | Partner |
Date | 1/6/2016 | 9/15/2015 | 9/22/2014 | 9/11/2008 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Type | Client | Partner | Client | Partner |
Business Partner | ||||
Country | United States | |||
News Snippet | First Beverage Group Acts as Financial Advisor to Four Peaks Brewing Company. `` Over the past twenty years the Four Peaks team has built a tremendous craft brewery and pub operation in their home state of Arizona , '' said Nicole Fry , managing partner of First Beverage Group . | |||
Sources | 1 |
First Beverage Group Team
3 Team Members
First Beverage Group has 3 team members, including current Founder, Chief Executive Officer, William S Anderson.
Name | Work History | Title | Status |
---|---|---|---|
William S Anderson | Founder, Chief Executive Officer | Current | |
Joth Ricci | Managing Partner | Former | |
Townsend W. Ziebold | Cascadia Capital, and Wasserstein & Co. | Managing Partner | Former |
Name | William S Anderson | Joth Ricci | Townsend W. Ziebold |
---|---|---|---|
Work History | Cascadia Capital, and Wasserstein & Co. | ||
Title | Founder, Chief Executive Officer | Managing Partner | Managing Partner |
Status | Current | Former | Former |
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