In the current and two previous financing rounds A total of more than 20 million euros has now flowed into the Munich-based startup Air Up. Founded in 2018, the company produces drinking bottles that flavor water with fragrance. Last year, the young company, in which TV investors Frank Thelen and Ralf Dümmel also hold stakes, generated more than 20 million euros in sales.
In addition to PepsiCo, the money for the current financing round comes from the Munich-based media company Ippen Media, the French foodtech investor Five Seasons Ventures and existing investors such as Oyster Bay.
Lena Jüngst, co-founder of Air Up, says:
"Last year's excellent business figures naturally give us every reason to be happy. As the visionary member of our founding team, I'm particularly pleased that the success of Air Up is proof that healthy and sustainable products can be particularly attractive to the younger generation if they're designed cleverly enough. With the fragrance pods we sold in 2020, our customers were able to flavor more than 17 million liters of water. Compared to similar flavorful beverages, our customers saved more than 17 million plastic bottles and more than 500 tons of sugar! That's a big first step. But getting even more out of it is my greatest motivation for the new year."
Frank Thelen: “The Air Up has a lot of future potential”
The Air Up team now includes 80 employees. Since last year, the company's drinking bottles and fragrance capsules, called "pods," have been available in France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Investor Frank Thelen says:
"Last year's business figures speak for themselves and are the best proof that Air Up has great future potential. Sugar is one of the leading causes of diseases such as diabetes and obesity. The success of Air Up shows that many people have recognized this problem, and I am pleased that we can make this new way of drinking available to even more countries in 2021."
With the fresh growth capital, the Munich-based startup plans to launch in other European countries and develop new flavors. New drinking systems are also in the works.
