No Ordinary Drinks nets nine-figure financing to roll out flavored waters across Southeast Asia and Europe

18 Jan 2022 --- No Ordinary Drinks (NOD), a stevia-infused flavored water company based in Shanghai, China, has raised a supplementary pre-A round at an undisclosed nine-figure valuation. The company will be channeling these new funds into launching its beverages across Southeast Asia and Europe.

This investment round was led by Proterra Investment Partners, which spun out of Cargill, bringing expertise in both upstream and downstream food and beverage-related industries.

New capital will be used to ramp up production, fulfill channel expansion, as well as accelerate go-to-market activities for its two new product lines.

“[Proterra] brings an immense network of resources to the table,” remarks Chris Tay, founder of NOD.

“The new funds will help us expand our channels that are ready and waiting to be deployed, to ramp up growth in the coming months, which will help provide the foundation for our next round of fundraising, slated to occur in the next three months.”

Expansion horizons for health beverages in China
Tay is now preparing NOD’s series A fundraise, which the company claims has already garnered interest from notable Asia Pacific institutional investors.

NOD has an overseas expansion plan, relying on a two-pronged approach starting with Singapore and Germany as the launching pads into South-East Asia and Europe, respectively. 

The company highlights that the European beverage market is worth US$503.55 billion per annum and is estimated to reach US$633.54 billion in 2026, while Asia Pacific’s is at US$351.08 billion. Both these markets are growing at a CAGR of 4 to 6%.

Over the year, NOD has been looking to add two new category lines to its portfolio – sparkling natural fruit juice and tea drinks, in addition to its core proposition of sugar-free flavored waters. 

“We want to focus on these three key product lines and not churn out products just for the sake of filling shelf space; a strategy adopted by many new brands,” says Tay. “The ability to develop and test proprietary products in-house versus pre-packaged third-party solutions is one enabler.”Tay is now preparing NOD’s series A fundraise, which the company claims has already garnered interest from notable Asia Pacific institutional investors.

“NOD has aggressive plans to build our brand,” adds Lobin Tjia, NOD's head of marketing and co-founder. “To cut through the cluttered media environment, we will avoid the pitfalls of just relying on influencers, as mobile billboards have become near ubiquitous.”

“We strive to create brand experiences that are current, memorable and crucially echo back to our goal of making healthy beverages taste good and fun to drink. We are in the business of creating a brand recipe that is built to last, grounded on fundamentals versus fads.”

The east craves cleaner
Like Europe, many countries in Asia – India, Thailand, Brunei and the Philippines, for instance – have adopted sugar taxes to improve nutrition levels and reduce obesity, further fueling NOD’s flavored water prospects in these regions.

Increasingly, research has found that Asian consumers are seeking more visibility of reformulated F&B products, increased communications that outline the benefits of these products and clearer nutrition labels.

In its core market China, NOD identifies demand for products that branch out of artificial-tasting concoctions. “There is enormous untapped potential in China's beverage market,” echoes Proterra Asia's managing partner Tai Lin.

“Consumers will never compromise on taste no matter how healthy the products,” says Tay. 

“Therefore, it is imperative that our products continue to be at the forefront of ingredient technology. Additionally, from the beginning, we committed to being an ESG-compliant company, as this will further widen our market prospects.”

Currently, NOD collaborates with the three leading convenience store brands in China: Family Mart, Lawson and 7-11.

By Benjamin Ferrer