36Kr has learned that the new-style herbal juice sparkling water brand "Hope Water" has completed its Series A funding round, led by Black Ant Capital, with Buer Capital and existing shareholders Huachuang and Dexun following. This is the third round of funding for Hope Water in nearly a year: the angel round was invested by Challenger Capital in May last year; the Pre-A round was led by Huachuang with Dexun following in September last year. It is reported that Hope Water's cumulative funding has exceeded 100 million yuan. Hope Water CEO Sun Mengge revealed that the funds from this round will be used for talent recruitment, product development, new factory construction, and brand building. "Hope Water" is a brand under Shanghai Siwang Beverage Co., Ltd. Its products focus on the "new-style herbal brewed sparkling juice drink" series, featuring well-known sparkling juice products such as Wang Shan Zha (Hawthorn), Wang Xing Fu (Apricot), Wang Tao Hua (Peach), and Wang Mei Hao (Bayberry). Hope Water products Image source: Hope Water It is reported that initially, Hope Water's R&D partners found that there was no particularly suitable soft drink for "barbecue" on the market, as ordinary fruit juices could not complement the spicy taste of barbecue and provide a refreshing sensation. To align with the positioning of cutting grease, relieving greasiness, aiding digestion, and refreshing the palate, the R&D team selected hawthorn, which has high market acceptance and a sweet and sour taste that cuts through grease. They adopted a traditional brewing process using whole fruits, which involves making dried fruit, segmented brewing, filtering, and adding carbonation, preserving the unique flavor of hawthorn while adding a fizzy texture. In addition, Hope Water introduced the concept of "food therapy" from traditional Chinese medicine. During the brewing process, no preservatives, flavors, or colors are added. Instead, processes such as segmented brewing and segmented filtering enhance product stability. At the same time, depending on the flavor and positioning of different products, functional herbal ingredients such as goji berries, snow pears, and tangerine peel are added to increase health and wellness attributes. Due to its precise positioning for barbecue, hot pot, and other "heavy oil, heavy spicy" dining scenarios, as well as its youthful packaging concept, Wang Shan Zha quickly established Hope Water's reputation offline, entering multiple leading chain hot pot brands. Subsequently, Hope Water launched the "Wang Series" featuring local specialty small fruits, such as Wang Tao Hua, a sparkling peach juice blended with honeysuckle and jasmine; Wang Xing Fu, based on northwestern apricots; and Wang Mei Hao, based on Zhejiang bayberries. Sun Mengge stated that Hope Water's product line is based on a major single product, expanding to fit dining scenarios. For example, Wang Tao Hua is more preferred for afternoon tea scenarios, while Wang Xing Fu is more preferred for wedding banquets. Glass bottles are suitable for restaurants with an average per-person spend above 60 yuan that need to showcase brand quality, while aluminum cans are suitable for restaurants with delivery needs that require easy portability. The offline dining channel for B2B is difficult to attack but easy to defend, but the advantage is that products are strongly associated with scenarios. For new brands, once the market is opened, it helps accumulate seed users and shape brand image. Sun Mengge said that generally, restaurant beverage lists are divided into three parts: self-made drinks, regular items, and trendy items. If there are 15 SKUs, self-made items account for at most 30%, and due to the impact of the pandemic, the proportion of self-made items will decline. Hope Water products: Wang Shan Zha, Wang Xing Fu, Wang Tao Hua Image source: Hope Water In terms of channels, Hope Water currently has a ratio of 1:2:1 for online, dining, and supermarket/new retail, with dining covering multiple categories from noodle shops and barbecue to hot pot. According to Sun Mengge, in offline dining, Hope Water can currently cover half of the brands in the Top 10 of multiple categories, with a high contract renewal rate with catering companies. Restaurants with good sales will restock 2-3 times a month. In online e-commerce, in the beverage category on Douyin, it is the largest new brand besides Genki Forest. In terms of supply chain, Hope Water revealed that the brand currently uses a cooperative production model with major beverage manufacturers. This year, it will establish a factory in Qiandao Lake, and by the end of the year, it will build another new factory to ensure production capacity. Source: 36Kr Author: Zi Pei Tips will be paid 400-2000 yuan once adopted.