Hangover ‘prevention’ drink Bae Juice takes $500,000 shot because it appears to US

An evening out consuming along with his girlfriend Sumin’s household modified Tim O’Sullivan’s life and profession, turning him into an evangelist for “bae” – the Korean phrase for the fruit Australians know because the Nashi pear.

O’Sullivan was already a bit worse for put on from the earlier night in South Korea when he was handed a “bae juice” as a hangover prevention. He turned a real believer, and determined to introduce the comfort retailer drink to the Australian market as Bae Juice.

Pears have already got a repute for decreasing the influence of hangovers. A 2015 scoping study by the CSIRO, funded by Horticulture Innovation Australia, discovered that consuming pear juice earlier than you get on the turps can cut back the ache and decrease blood alcohol ranges.

However O’Sullivan and cofounder Liam Gostencnik have discovered their area of interest with “bae” (nashi) pears as a “superfood” drink.

After 4 years of bootstrapping their Melbourne startup, the pair have raised $500,000 from Honan Capital to crack the US market alongside a distribution take care of may also see the squeez4wy pack bottles in  3000-plus retails shops together with Woolworths, Dan Murphys and BWS.

Bae Juice additionally has the backing of TakeFlight Ventures by way of its worldwide model accelerator, which helps confirmed Australian shopper startups launch within the US market. US-based Gold Coast Distributors will get the product on the cabinets there, beginning with New York this month, alongside an Amazon presence.

O’Sullivan says he’s pleased with their success thus far, with income anticipated to double this monetary yr.

“We’re thrilled to be launching within the US and couldn’t consider higher launch companions,” he mentioned.

“The funding from Honan Capital helps us to speed up the subsequent chapter in our journey, we couldn’t be extra enthusiastic about what the subsequent 12 months appears like.”

Will Honan from Honan Capital has joined the board.

“We’re excited to be becoming a member of the Bae Juice staff at this stage of their lifecycle. For us, the Bae Juice story represents the quintessential Australian startup – mates with a imaginative and prescient and the work ethic to make it a actuality,” he mentioned.

“We sit up for leveraging our networks and expertise to construct upon the already vital development that Tim, Liam and Sumin have pushed.”