What is Wildwonder’s latest valuation after Shark Tank?

Drinks made from herbs and medicinal plants are healthy, but they often don’t taste very good. Entrepreneur Rosa Li aims to change that with Wildwonder, a sparkling probiotic drink made with super herbs. The startup was featured on Shark Tank in January 2023 and inked a deal with Tony Xu. Currently, Wildwonder is valued at $8 million.

Rosa Li’s Background

Rosa Lee grew up in Beijing, China, but later moved to San Francisco. Lee graduated from Northwestern University and spent a semester studying in London. She later earned an MBA from Stanford University!

Rosa has a strong background in finance, having worked in investment banking at Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. She left finance in 2012 and spent the next two years gaining experience in marketing and business analytics.

Founding Wildwonder

As a child, Lee’s grandmother would make tonic water with herbs and spices. The tonic water was indeed healthy, but it didn’t satisfy her taste buds. Rosa wanted the best of both worlds, which led her to start Rosalie Tea in 2015. The company was an “artisan tea purveyor” but closed in 2017.

However, she realised that people were too busy to make their own drinks. This inspired her to create ready-to-drink herbal beverages. In addition to teas, she also created sparkling probiotic drinks in cans.

Her second company, originally named Tea Crush, launched in 2020. As the startup expanded beyond tea, they changed their name to Wildwonder. In 2021, the founders raised $2.2 million in seed funding from three venture capital firms.

Appeared on Shark Tank

Raising over $2 million is a huge accomplishment, but they need more funding. The beverage company is already in Sprouts Farmers Markets and every Whole Foods store in Northern California.

All of this was achieved at the onset of the pandemic. As the company expanded, they began to focus on improving packaging, launching new products and expanding its presence in retail stores outside of Northern California.

Rosa’s pitch was strong, and her background in private equity clearly served her well. She handed out samples to the sharks, and most liked the taste and branding. Despite the lack of profitability, Rosa went to the table hoping to raise $500,000 for a 5% stake.

After Shark Tank

The episode aired in early 2023, and Rosa saw a significant increase in orders after her appearance on national television. The business should be profitable now. You can buy their unique flavors, such as Mango Gold and Peach Ginger, on Amazon or Drinkwildwonder.com.

The drinks are sold in packs of 12 on Amazon, but you can order packs of 24 or 36 through their website. Wildwonder is currently available in over 3,000 locations across the U.S., from small local markets to national chains like Whole Foods and Target.

Wildwonder donates 5% of profits from each bottle to a cause that empowers women and marginalized communities. The sparkling probiotic juice drink has 349 reviews on Amazon and a 4.3-star rating. Rosa Li’s company is growing and showing no signs of slowing down. Wildwonder is currently valued at $8 million. The company has sold more than 5 million cans and the deal with Tony Xu is complete.

Categories: Shark Tank
Source: svlsf.edu.vn