Flavored water brand Hint closes $25m Series D financing round

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Picture: Hint Inc

Flavored water brand Hint has closed a $25m Series D financing round led by Springboard Growth Capital and supported by Philippe Laffont, Linnea Roberts’ Gingerbread Capital and Emiliano Román’s Medina Heights Capital Partners.

Founded by ex AOL executive Kara Goldin in 2005, Hint has carved out a significant niche in the beverages category with her still, carbonated and caffeinated waters with a ‘hint’ of fruit, natural flavors and nothing else (no sweeteners, preservatives, or colors). It has also extended its brand into personal care with the launch of sunscreen and deodorant.

Hint water is growing eight times faster than the category overall with retail sales growth topping 80% over the past year, making it America’s fastest-growing still flavored water, claimed the firm, citing SPINs data for the 52-weeks ending July 12.

Hint is available today in 30,000+ brick-and-mortar stores nationwide, while online sales have more than doubled this year, with recurring revenue at drinkhint.com reaching approximately 60% of sales.

With Hint, we’ve found a brand that has successfully challenged the status quo to create a dynamic beverage category for the increasingly health conscious consumer,” said Amy Wildstein, co-founder and managing partner at Springboard Growth Capital.  

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Hint was founded in 2005 by Kara Goldin, who started cutting up fruit and throwing it into pitchers of water to wean herself off soda after the birth of her third child and realized there was nothing like it on the market.