Munich-based fragrance bottle startup Air up has secured €2.3 million in funding. VC Oysterbay is the lead investor. It also brings former Freeletics CMO Christian Hauth on board as co-CEO.
Since August 2019, the Fragrance bottle startup Air up According to the company, it plans to sell around 100,000 starter sets of its drinking system. And 2020 could also be a good year. The Munich-based startup has now announced that it has received €2.3 million from its existing investors as part of an interim financing round. Following its market launch last year, the funds from the new round will be used for product development, marketing, company growth, and regional expansion.
Perfect combination of food and tech
The foodtech-focused venture capital fund Oysterbay is the lead investor. It, along with other investors such as Ralf Dümmel and Frank Thelen, invested in the drinking system, which imparts a specific flavor to water using only scent, in mid-2018.
"As big fans of Air up, it was a pleasure for Oysterbay to complete this investment as lead investor. Air up is a perfect combination of sustainability, global IP, lifestyle, food, and tech. The founding team is highly motivated, dedicated, and professional,"
commented Christoph Miller the renewed investment of his VC.
“It feels a bit like starting your own business”
Air up is also making some changes in terms of personnel: Since January, Siroop founder and Ex-Freeletics CMO Christian Hauth on board. As Co-CEO, Hauth will take over the areas of strategy, HR, and organization from CEO Jannis Koppitz, who will continue to be responsible for finance, financing, and corporate development. Christian Hauth about his new task:
"It feels a bit like starting my own business, coming on board at such an early stage at Air up. This offers fantastic opportunities to help shape the future of the team and the product. At the same time, having a team that's hungry and has an incredible drive for change holds a lot of potential. With Air up, we want to achieve a small revolution by giving people the opportunity to improve their eating habits in a sustainable way."
And what happens next?
In addition to Germany, the Munich-based startup plans to expand its focus to Austria and Switzerland starting in spring 2020. The goal is to be available in its own online shop, leading marketplaces, and brick-and-mortar stores, as is the case in Germany, and thus visibly establish the scent-based drinks segment.
In addition to expanding marketing efforts, the Air up team also plans to use the new capital to finance product development. The raspberry-lemon and cherry flavors have already been launched in recent weeks.
