Saint Archer Beer Founders Launch Villager Food and Bev Platform

07 July 2016 --- Hoping to emulate the early success of his San Diego-based beer company Saint Archer Brewing, which was purchased by MillerCoors last September, entrepreneur Josh Landan is doubling down on the beverage business.

Landan, together with current Saint Archer vice president Jeff Hansson, is preparing to launch Villager Goods, a line of food and beverage products backed by many of the same action sports figures who initially funded Saint Archer.

Villager’s first product, a pasteurized and not-from-concentrate organic coconut water line that comes in three flavors — original, pineapple and chocolate — is slated to debut in August and will be sold in 500 mL Tetra Paks for $2.99 each.

The company is currently “in discussions with several national and regional distributors, including DPI and KeHE,” Landan wrote to Brewbound.

Sourcing and production of the Villager coconut water will be managed by the Celebes Coconut Corporation, based in the Philippines, he added. A forthcoming, non-coconut and still undisclosed food product is also being developed and the company plans to launch “extensions of the Villager brand” into other categories within the next six months.

In addition to financial backing from Landan and Hansson, Villager has about 20 action sports investors who will also serve as brand ambassadors. Many of them, including popular pro skateboarders Paul Rodriguez and Mikey Taylor, also backed Landan’s first beverage project, Saint Archer Brewing.

According to public records, the Villager Goods trademark is owned by the newly created JLJH (Josh Landan/Jeff Hansson) Management LLC, which, according to an April SEC Filing, had raised $1.39 million. Also according to the filing, Ryan Kingman, the co-founder and former CMO of Stance Socks (the official sock of the NBA), has been tapped as the company’s chief executive officer.