Food & Beverage News: Insights, Safety, and Dining Trends
- Better Sour secured investment from Taste Tomorrow Ventures to fund its next growth phase and scaling plans.
- The brand makes clean-label, plant-based sour gummies using fruit- and vegetable-derived dyes and ingredients.
- Products are already in over 3,300 stores and available on Amazon, with exotic fruit-forward flavours.
- Taste Tomorrow Ventures backs diverse founders; its team includes industry veterans with experience at PepsiCo and Disney.
Better Sour, a US-based start-up making clean-label sweets, has attracted investment from Taste Tomorrow Ventures.
The early-stage investment arm of beverage incubator LA Libations did not disclosed the size of the capital injection nor any stake it has taken in Better Sour, founded in 2023 by entrepreneurs Bella Hughes and Semira Nikou.
Better Sour aims “to transform the candy aisle” with its brand of sour gummies, which are made using “clean, plant-based ingredients and dyes” derived from fruits and vegetables.
According to Danny Stepper, co-founder of Taste Tomorrow Ventures, the investment will support Better Sour’s “next phase of growth and deepens our commitment to backing diverse founders who are reshaping the future of snacks”.
Commenting on the funding, Ms Hughes said in a statement: “We are incredibly excited to partner with Taste Tomorrow Ventures and their sister division, LA Libations, whose team understands not only the power of brand and innovation, but the importance of diverse leadership and building with purpose.
“This partnership will help us scale our mission and reach more consumers craving bold taste and culinary better-for-you candy.”
Better Sour’s products are currently available in more than 3,300 stores and on the Amazon online platform.
They are offered in flavours such as Guava Calamansi Lime, Pomegranate Apricot and Passion Fruit, according to Better Sour’s website.
Scott Guthrie, managing director at Taste Tomorrow Ventures, added: “Better Sour’s rise is a testament to the power of innovation in a multibillion-dollar category, where gummy candy is seeing double-digit growth and sour flavours are exploding, driving the majority of growth in the segment.”
Taste Tomorrow Ventures was launched by LA Libations co-founders Stepper and Dino Sarti, in collaboration with Guthrie, whose career includes leadership roles at PepsiCo, Sodastream and Disney.
The venture-capital firm kicked off its inaugural fund in March having raised $30m. Taste Tomorrow Ventures’ first investment was Just Ice Tea, a US-based beverage company.
Just Ice Tea was created by Seth Goldman, the entrepreneur behind Honest Tea, which he sold to The Coca-Cola Company in 2011.
Coca-Cola later discontinued the Honest Tea brand approximately three years ago.
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