Premium soda brand Something & Nothing secured $6.4 million in new funding to accelerate its US growth, doubling down on global flavors and a hyperlocal marketing strategy to differentiate itself in an increasingly saturated modern soda category.
The funding round, led by Venrex with participation from existing investors including Rianta Capital, ACF Investors and The Source Ventures, brings the UK-founded company’s total funding to $15.7 million since launching in 2020.
The funding will support the brand’s three priorities: consumer marketing, team expansion and working capital to fuel retail growth and production.
Building national growth one neighborhood at a time
Part of the brand’s funding will go toward scaling what the company calls a “neighborhood-led” approach, a hyperlocal marketing model that targets consumers where they already spend time, according to the brand’s Co-founder Olly Dixon.
The strategy centers on activations around key retail accounts, including the “Not Pop” campaign which featured advertisements in neighborhoods and bus stops near Whole Foods Markets in Chicago. The campaign cheekily nodded to the Midwestern term for soda: “pop.” In Miami, the company examined neighborhoods surrounding Whole Foods locations and built campaigns, product sampling, influencer outreach and expanded distribution serving local run clubs, yoga studios, independent retailers and creator partnerships, according to Dixon.
Run clubs, in particular, have emerged as an unexpectedly effective channel for the brand.
“Loads of run clubs, obviously targeted by energy drinks and functional drinks for hydration, and none of the runners want it because they’re often in the evening,” Dixon said. “Actually, having just a really refreshing, nice drink has worked really well for us.”
Retail growth
While the brand is in all eight Whole Foods Market’s stores across the UK, its neighborhood-first strategy helped shape the brand’s unconventional retail journey in the US.
According to Dixon, Something & Nothing’s first significant US retail success came almost by accident when an importer brought the sodas into Erewhon in California several years ago.
“He phoned us up a few months later and said, ‘Oh, you’re the best-selling new product in Erewhon this year,’” Dixon recalled. “And we were like, ‘What’s Erewhon? We’ve never heard of it.’”
The brand’s distinction in the popular organic and natural specialty grocer went beyond beverages.
“That wasn’t like best-selling new drink. That was best-selling new product across the whole store.”
Something & Nothing’s early retail success helped cement demand for the brand, Dixon explained. The brand’s Erewhon popularity soon opened doors to broader retail opportunities from large retailers like Whole Foods Markets and H-E-B to local stores like Dumbo Market in Brooklyn, NY, and Tiny Grocer in Austin, Tex. The US represents more than 65% of company revenue.
The divide in better-for-you soda: Function or flavor?
Modern soda’s growth has been defined by better-for-you claims around low or no sugar, no additives or artificial flavors. In recent years, the category has leaned heavily into functional ingredients like prebiotics or adaptogens for gut, mood or cognitive support. Yet, flavor-forward brands are slowly gaining pace, from startups like Fruga’s tropical fruit-flavored sodas to legacy giants like 7UP’s Lime Lemon emphasizing the flavor experience over functional benefits.
Something & Nothing has built its identity around globally-inspired flavor combinations, vibrant yet minimalist packaging and what Dixon describes as a different philosophy toward soft drinks.
“The majority of the drinks in the category are focused on being better for you or having a function. And although our drinks are better for you in that they’re no [added] sugar, no sweeteners, [and contain] natural ingredients, that’s not really the focus,” Dixon explained.
Beyond the better-for-you ingredient deck, the brand positions itself around travel- and culinary-inspired flavors, like Mango & Thai Basil, Sicilian Lemon Iced Tea and Cucumber. Mango & Thai Basil flavor, for example, was inspired by a dish Dixon encountered through a chef friend.
Dixon credits brands such as Olipop and Poppi with helping establish consumer willingness to spend several dollars on a premium (yet functional) soda, while simultaneously creating space for brands that offer an alternative to function-forward formulations.
Over the past six years, Dixon said one of the company’s biggest lessons has been resisting pressure to conform to category conventions.
“The more we stick to our values and our brand positioning, the stronger we perform,” he said. “The more we do what the category thinks we should do, the more gray it gets.”
Flavor-first packaging design
As functional beverages compete with one another for visible nutrient claims and ingredient callouts, Something & Nothing has deliberately maintained an image-forward aesthetic, despite retailer suggestions to more prominently advertise claims such as low calories, natural ingredients and no added sugar.
“We kind of looked at design, and then we sort of realized that actually, the kind of polarity and minimal design is what’s got us to where we are,” he explained.
Something & Nothing’s pared down packaging design coupled with limited marketing allowed the brand to stand out on shelves dominated by splashy packaging designs, Dixon noted.
“For the last three years, all that growth has come from nobody being there,” Dixon said. “So that is the can in a fridge working and no marketing spend.”
Future plans
While modern soda has experienced acquisitions signaling industry longevity – PepsiCo’s 2025 acquisition of Poppi as one example – Dixon said the company’s focus remains on building a resilient business rather than strategizing an exit.
“Being acquired is obviously a good outcome, but in terms of the brand and the business, it’s kind of one of those things where I think you sort of have to build a strong brand and business, and then if it comes, it comes,” he said.
For now, the US, where Something & Nothing has “barely scratched the surface,” remains the primary focus, Dixon said.
“It sort of feels simple. You create a really good product. You create a good brand, and then if it keeps selling, then you keep going,” he said.
