We normally think of caffeine and vitamins as coming from two different sources in the morning. The folks at VitaCup think otherwise, and they have a product that could change the rest of our minds, too.
The company makes Keurig-compatible coffee and tea pods infused with vitamins and available in a range of flavors you’d find with any other line of Keurig cups. And we’ll likely see the company’s offerings expand in the near future, as VitaCup announced last week that it has raised an undisclosed round of funding led by First Beverage Ventures.
“The single-cup coffee category is a large and growing market with limited innovation,” VitaCup CEO Brandon Fishman recently noted. “We are excited by the prospect of what we can accomplish together with our new partners at First Beverage as we bring greater capabilities and focus to execute on our growth strategy at VitaCup.”
As the story goes, CEO Brandon Fishman started VitaCup after discovering his own vitamin deficiency as well as the fact that 40 percent of the population suffers from a lack of vitamin B12. After Fishman teamed up with fifth-generation coffee brewer Jeff McIntosh, the California-based company was born in 2017.
Every cup is infused with vitamins B1, B5, B6, B9, and B12, as well as A+ and D3. Those target areas like metabolism, energy, healthy hair and skin, immune system, and mood.
And no, you’re not drinking something that tastes like liquid drugstore. McIntosh and his team spend substantial time in the lab testing out the flavor of the coffee. Right now, pods are available in several different blends, including a House Roast, French Vanilla, and a Genius Blend that’s infused with turmeric and cinnamon.
Flavor isn’t the company’s only mission, though. Besides using Fair Trade sources for coffee, VitaCup also donates 2 percent of its profits to Vitamin Angels, an organization working to end global malnutrition. Its goal is to raise $20,000 for Vitamin Angels in 2018.
The company also keeps an eye to the environment. VitaPod’s San Diego-based production and fulfillment centers are all LEED certified. Meanwhile, all pods are BPA-free and fully recyclable at any Number 5 recycling center.
Right now, the pods are only available at the company’s e-commerce site. VitaCup will use this round of funding to expand sales and marketing and explore other retail options (brick and mortar, presumably). New products are also in the works, ones that combine the company’s main mission of finding the right brew—that is, one that tastes great and gives back.
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