Beam Raises $5M Series A, Launches First Non-CBD Line

Direct-to-consumer wellness brand beam has raised $5 million in a Series A financing round, the company announced today, bringing its total funding to $12 million to date.

The round was led by C2 Ventures, which previously invested in beam’s 2019 seed round, and also included investment from Obvious Ventures, which had led the seed round. Also participating were Freshly co-founder Carter Comstock, RXBar co-founder Peter Rahal and Camwood Capital, the family office of NFL quarterback Baker Mayfield, as well as pro athletes including Danica Patrick, Kevin Hayes and Brooks Laich.

Based in Boston, beam was founded in 2018 by former Boston College classmates and professional athletes Kevin Moran and Matt Lombardi. The company produces a variety of functional products designed around themes of Balance, Performance, Recovery and Sleep. The brand initially launched with a number of CBD-infused products in multiple CPG categories which are currently only sold online through its website. Beam’s current offerings include powdered beverages Dream Powder and Clarity Powder, as well as salves, tinctures and capsules. The company also previously sold a line of bars which have since been discontinued.

According to Moran, beam will put much of the new financing towards innovation and R&D, as well as expanding its marketing and operations teams to work towards scaling the brand.

“We think, through the Series Seed and Series A stage, that we’ve acquired product-market fit. Now we to a degree know it’s working and we have to continue to be a great place for our customers to come and for some new customers to come as well,” Moran said.

This month, beam made its first expansion outside of the CBD space with the launch of Elevate, a line of powdered hydration drinks packaged in single-serve sticks. The line is available in Balance (Mixed Berry), Performance (Watermelon) and Recovery (Lemon) varieties and contain electrolytes sourced from coconut water. The products contain just 1 gram of sugar per serving. Elevate is available in variety pack boxes (15 sticks with five of each flavor), or in individual flavor packs of 15 sticks for $35 and a 30-pack for $55.

Each SKU also contains different functional ingredients to serve the unique need state: Performance includes 30 mg of caffeine and B vitamins, Balance focuses on gut health with vitamins D and K and Recovery features collagen and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) to promote muscle growth and healthy skin and hair.

Lombardi said the goal for beam was to never become boxed in as a CBD company and did not want to appear as though it was just “putting CBD” into anything, so Elevate provided an opportunity to expand the brand platform into new spaces focused around holistic wellness. Moran added that the company’s “big vision” is to create a lifestyle company servicing the consumer throughout the day and that “the products themselves ladder up towards that bigger vision.”

“We live at this intersection of athletics and active lifestyle,” Lombardi said. “And we look at this as a category that really meets the needs of both of those different communities, whether you’re an elite performing athlete, or you’re just trying to live a happy, healthy life. We felt like the best lineup of products can really be both of those needs.”

Beam will continue to innovate in both CBD and non-CBD products, Lombardi said, and the company plans to launch several more new products later this year. As well, beam will look to leverage its existing and new athlete partnerships in marketing materials to increase brand affinity and awareness.

Though Moran said beam aims to scale the business this year, for now it remains an ecommerce business only. However, Moran noted that the company is “taking it day by day” and may eventually seek to expand into brick and mortar retail.

“We have some pretty big goals within the company in terms of the amount of customers we want to serve and for us to get to those at some point, we’re going to have to be in a retail standpoint,” Moran said. “Whether that’s next month or two years from now is to be seen.”