Bulletproof Raises $13M to Fuel Product Innovation, Omnichannel Growth

Nutrition platform brand Bulletproof 360 today announced a $13 million capital raise to fund the brand’s omnichannel expansion and the development of products in new and existing categories. The raise was led by Beliv, the Latin America-based business unit of multinational beverage corporation the CBC Group, and Rocana Ventures along with existing investors CAVU Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures.

The new funding brings the company’s total capital raise to approximately $83 million; its most recent raise, a $40 million Series C round in 2018, was its largest to date.

“We have been tracking the progress of Bulletproof and believe they are ideally positioned to meet consumer needs for truly differentiated mind-body supplement, food and beverage products,” Carlos Sluman, CEO, founder and partner at Beliv, said in a press release. “We are thrilled to be an active, strategic partner to Larry Bodner and the Bulletproof team as we support their next phase of accelerated growth.”

Bulletproof CEO Larry Bodner said the company is profitable, and the capital will be used to further its growth, particularly for product innovation and digital marketing aimed at increasing the brand’s household penetration. Bodner said the investment arrives at a time when consumers are “migrating to solutions for immunity, energy, stress relief and sleep,” during COVID-19, which he described as the brand’s “sweet spot.”

“We have the capital now to step on the gas,” he said. “We use a phrase in the company ‘all gas, no brakes,’ and that’s the direction we’re headed.”

The pandemic has “tested our agility as a company,” but the company has benefitted from having a omnichannel approach, Bodner said. While sales of its supplements, coffee and protein powders increased, its Collagen Protein Bars, which relied on grab-and-go retail sales, saw declines which it hopes to kick start with its new Chocolate Dipped Collagen Protein Bars launched at Whole Foods last month. Bodner said the company will focus more attention on beverages going forward, starting by relaunching its cold brew with an updated formulation and switching its packaging from Tetra Pak cartons to single-serve cans.

The capital will also be used for a packaging rebrand, based on consumer feedback, across its entire portfolio that will hit retail shelves by the end of the year. The rebrand will coincide with a significant digital marketing push, intended to streamline its brand messaging and increase consumer engagement with the brand. The company will also be expanding into “adjacent” categories between now and January, Bodner said, which will be supported with expanded distribution in the first and second quarters of 2021.

“The notion that we’re bringing to the consumer is [that] food is fuel,” he said. “They’re all functional products, and food is not the enemy. Consumers trust us for what we put into the product, and I think that’s the key for consumers right now.”

The raise comes nearly a year after founder Dave Asprey stepped down as CEO amidst a stretch of employee turnover and was replaced by Bodner, a former CFO of Sovos Brands. Above pushing for innovation, revamping packaging and strategically refocusing the business (which included closing its Bulletproof Cafes), Bodner’s main priority since stepping into the CEO role has been improving company culture.

“I saw opportunities for the business, but I saw a better opportunity in the culture and the engagement,” Bodner said. “You can’t win as a company unless you have a highly engaged team. Bulletproof has gone through some historical changes in leadership and I think everyone had a different approach, and my approach is being very emotionally engaged with everybody. I want to make sure it’s a place where everyone can thrive.”

Through one-on-one and small group meetings, he said the company has made “enormous progress” and is now able to “work great horizontally.”

“To me, that’s what I’m most proud of,” Bodner said. “I could talk about numbers, I could talk about growth, I could talk about innovation, but none of that’s possible without the team being engaged and that’s where my energy has been.”