Steaz Steeped in New Capital

NEWTOWN, Penn.—The Healthy Beverage Company, makers of Steaz® Sparkling Green Teas and Steaz® Energy, has received $11 million in private financing to fuel expansion of its award-winning Fair Trade™ Certified and USDA Organic products in natural and mainstream channels. The primary investor is Inventages, a global private equity firm specializing in life sciences, nutrition and wellness. Whitefish Group, HBC’s Canadian distributor, has also invested.

“We were deeply impressed with the passion and commitment Eric, Steve and their team continually demonstrated throughout our discussions,” said Erich Sieber, partner, Inventages. “There is no doubt they are dedicated to building Steaz into a global beverage brand. We are delighted to be partner to that vision.”

Eric Schnell, HBC co-founder, said, “The new funding enables us to keep pace with the growing demand for our products while continuing to operate our company according to our triple bottom-line commitment to people, planet and profits.”

His fellow HBC co-founder, Steven Kessler, further noted, “In Inventages and Whitefish Group we have found like-minded partners who believe in the Steaz brand and the potential for organic, fair trade beverages in world markets.”

In addition to the new investment capital, Schnell and Kessler have appointed several key members to the HBC executive team. Jim DiPietro, former Unilever vice president responsible for the PepsiCo/Lipton strategic joint venture, has become HBC's first chief operating officer; Mike Sharman, a 20-year beverage industry veteran and most recently regional vice president for Glaceau/Vitamin Water, was appointed vice president of sales and business development; and Linda Flagler joined HBC as director of finance, following a stint with Constar International, one of the largest suppliers of PET packaging for soft drinks and beverages in the U.S. and Europe.