Oaza updates + fundraising introduction
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alvie....@gmail.com
Jun 24, 2022, 9:08:14 PM6/24/22
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CBS '13 Cluster X fam,
Hello to you all! Hope you're all doing well and glad to have caught up with some of you in person fairly recently. Reaching out to you on "Fundraising Friday" to share what I'm doing with my professional life right now, and forward you my company's capital raise solicitation email to see if you might know anyone in your personal or professional network who is interested in investing in an early-stage F&B brand with solid enterprise leadership (i.e. me and Woodruff and friends, lol) and good momentum. Timing is terrible with this recession looming of course... but someone out there has got to have couch cushion money and not want to put it toward stocks/crypto/real estate for the time being. Any help with intros to potential would be much appreciated, and let me know if you guys are coming to Las Vegas (my new home) or L.A. (there twice a month) anytime soon for business or pleasure.
-alvie
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Hello! I’m reaching out to reacquaint you with Oaza and provide details regarding our latest fundraising round we’ve recently launched. We are currently raising a second seed (i.e. pre-series) round of $750k USD on a convertible note at a $5M enterprise valuation cap and 5% interest.
Our path from product launch in June 2020 to today has not been without its fair share of challenges. In addition to seasonal demand dropoff that cold beverages experience every winter, we also had the lingering impact from the COVID-19 Omicron variant slowing 2021 sales earlier in the year than expected and causing unforeseen logistics procurement difficulties. Despite the adversity affecting all businesses in our food & beverage industry, our enterprise pushed forward, streamlining costs and continuing to make significant progress across multiple business units. Within the last four quarters, Oaza has not only survived the ongoing pandemic but displayed strong indicators of future growth:
- Graduated from leading CPG accelerator BeyondSKU
- Selected to leading natural foods distributor UNFI's prestigious UPNext program
- Nominated "Top Brand to Watch" in 2021 by both New Hope and leading national natural foods distributor KeHE
- Partnered with Pod Foods as well as established broker Good Now Foods to accelerate expansion of retailer/distributor reach in West/Southwest regions
- Nominated as a Finalist in two categories and selected as Winner, Best Functional Drink at the 2022 InnoBev Awards
As 2Q ‘22 comes to a close, Oaza’s revenues are up 65% YoY. With public concern over the pandemic appearing to dissipate and travel/commerce restrictions all but lifted (knock on wood), the macro trends for the RTD coffee category are moving in the right direction, and our enterprise is showing promising momentum in lockstep with the big picture. We are now in 400+ stores nationwide including retailers in LA, SF, Austin and Chicago and several well-recognized chains in our home market of the Northeast including Wegman's (100+ stores; voted #1 grocery store in the U.S. by Newsweek), Tops (150+ store standard grocery chain), DeCicco's, Fairway Markets and Food Bazaar.
For your investment consideration - as well as the consideration of others within your personal network, feel free to share! - find below some high-level background information on Oaza, along with the attached pitch deck yielding more granular enterprise details including 5-year financial projections. If you have any additional questions, please reach out to me. On behalf of our leadership team, I very much appreciate you extending us the opportunity to discuss a potential investment in our enterprise.
Looking forward to hearing back from you and next steps if interested, and hope you have a good week!
-Alvie
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OAZA PRODUCT OVERVIEW
OAZA was born from necessity. Like many ambitious New Yorkers before him, our founder Jeff was a Manhattan-based twentysomething determined career climber traveling from city to city every week--a hectic life fueled by riding the ups and downs of coffee and caffeine. Jeff never wanted to abandon his chosen path, yet some weeks he felt worn down and struggling to sustain energy and focus.
After consulting with leading sports scientists, nutritionists, and R&D labs, Jeff developed the first version of Oaza; subsequent iterations have improved taste, functionality, packaging and brand aesthetic while continuing to reduce costs of ingredients and manufacturing. A first-of-its-kind and best-in-class functional coffee, Oaza is a disruptive brand at the intersection of the fast growing $3bn RTD Coffee and $53bn Energy Drink categories.
Oaza offers a line of premium ready-to-drink cold brew coffees that are vegan, healthy, hydrating, and packed with energy, consisting of 3 delicious flavors: Black, Oat Milk, and Cacao Mocha. Oaza is the first cold brew coffee on the market infused with electrolytes to aid in hydration, sustained energy and active lifestyle performance. Low-calorie, plant-based, dairy-free and no sugar added with clean and simple all-natural ingredients, Oaza's low-acidity pH yields smooth finish without ever compromising taste or refreshment.
OAZA BRAND ETHOS
Translated from Czech, Polish and other Slavic dialects, “Oaza” means “oasis” in English. An oasis is an aspirational vision - a destination you are trying to get to even as you might be uncertain of its exact location or nature. Moreover, upon toiling and eventually arriving at your oasis goal, you might then and there realize that it was not what you expected or even truly wanted… which prompts you to regroup, recalibrate and set off undaunted and undeterred onto your new path in pursuit of the next glittering yet hazy “Oaza” that catches your eye far off on your horizon.
Your goals and your visions may more often than not be half-formed, in flux and/or a work in progress. Nevertheless, actualizing them requires that your plan, path and process be grounded, focused and systematic. Let’s face it: the world caters to go-getters over mere goal-setters, and achieving your vision requires focusing on your path. The roadmap you set and the journey you execute to get to your oasis is both inspired by and fueled by Oaza Cold Brew Coffee.
Average people drink coffee just to wake up and pull themselves together. Oaza is an innovative functional coffee formula that aims to do more than just wake you up - it propels you upward and forward through the grind of your daily path to achieve near-term goals you set for yourself, bringing you incremental steps closer to your long-term goals. Oaza is a elevated lifestyle beverage that caters to planners, path setters, and trailblazers. Clean, simple, and healthy for you, it is the optimal daily drink of choice for those who have opted in to a challenging yet rewarding daily journey towards personal success and growth.
Oaza embodies the marriage of envisioning with executing and the fusion of fashionable with functional. Most coffee is about where it's from... Oaza is about where it can take you.
Oaza Coffee One Line Pitch: Most coffee is about where it’s from.. Oaza is about where it can take you. Business Summary: Oaza developed an innovative line of ready-to-drink (RTD) cold brew coffees, infused with electrolytes. As a first-of-its-kind functional coffee, designed for superior energy and focus, Oaza is a disruptive brand at the intersection of the fast-growing $3bn RTD Coffee and $15bn Energy Drink categories. Management: Jeff Burbank (Founder/CEO), Siva Dhamotharan (CMO), and Alvie Loreto (CRO) are good friends who share a passion for entrepreneurship and coffee. Each team member holds a top-tier MBA and has extensive business experience in corporate and startup environments. Product Differentiation: Oaza’s better-for-you coffees are among the strongest in the RTD Coffee category (at 200mg caffeine), have innovative functionality to sustain energy (with electrolytes + L-Theanine), and are healthy at 0g sugar and < 30 calories. Target Market: Active, health-conscious consumers, ages 18-44, who care about performance and need a clean energizing beverage to hit a higher gear. Brand Ethos: Oaza is a lifestyle brand catering to ‘go-getters’. The name Oaza translates to “Oasis”, and the brand Oaza serves to inspire and fuel those on their path to reach their oasis, wherever that may be. Traction: Oaza has grown ~40% year-over-year despite significant headwinds from the pandemic. In 2022, Oaza is poised to excel after a significant rebrand and relaunch of the product in March ‘22:
Why Now: In the wake of Covid-19, Americans are striving to be more active and healthy. They are seeking F&B products rich in taste and quality, but with less sugar or additives. Oaza is the better-for-you coffee to fuel people to perform at their best post-Covid. Business Model: 70% Brick & Mortar / 30% Direct-to-Consumer (D2C). Competitors: Traditional RTD coffees (e.g., La Colombe, Rise), Functional RTD coffees (e.g., Super Coffee), and Energy Drinks (e.g., Red Bull). Competitive Advantage: Significant R&D with leading copacker to infuse electrolytes into coffee alongside monk fruit and superfood ingredients (e.g., cacao) to optimize taste. Trade secrets around a shelf-stable coffee that is high in PH and blends simple ingredients without unhealthy additives. | Company Profile URL: www.drinkoaza.com Industry: Food & Beverage Category: Ready-to-Drink (RTD) Coffee Launched: June, 2020 Contact Info Name: Jeff Burbank (CEO) E-mail: je...@drinkoaza.com Mobile: 585-370-2772 Raise Information Stage: Seed Seeking: $750k Instrument: Convertible Note Management Jeff Burbank, Founder/CEO Siva Dhamotharan, CMO Alvie Loreto, CRO Advisors BeyondSKU, NYC F&B Accelerator Jamie Borteck, Former SVP at Justin’s Larissa Hrabec, Former Director at Nestle Steve Kessler, Cofounder of Steaz Todd Fletcher, Former Director at Red Bull Tom Healy, Former SVP at Vitamin Water Veronica Park, Former Exec at Starbucks |
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Chief Revenue Officer
"Most coffee is about where it's from... OAZA is about where it can take you."
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