Month: October 2020

Although the terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the investment by Wavemaker Partners will bring both financial capital and deep technology expertise to ecoSPIRITS’ growth plans. The funding comes amid unprecedented demand for the ecoSPIRITS vision of ending single use glass in the spirits industry, offering dramatic cost savings coupled with transformative carbon footprint reduction. Since its launch in 2018, the ecoSPIRITS closed-loop technology has been implemented with partner spirit brands, distributors, wholesalers and hospitality venues across much of Asia Pacific, including Singapore, Hong Kong SAR, China, Australia and New Zealand.

ecoSPIRITS CEO Paul Gabie notes, “Over the last three years, ecoSPIRITS has built remarkable momentum with our rollout in Asia Pacific and hardware development work. In this next chapter, as we embark on a journey to integrate intelligent features into circular packaging solutions, we were in need of a partner with experience bringing new technologies to regional and global scale. Wavemaker Partners was our first and only choice for this role. We have tremendous respect for the work Eric Manlunas, Paul Santos, Gavin Lee and the Wavemaker team have done over the past eight years to champion technology innovators.”

“Prior to meeting with Paul and Spencer, we never really appreciated the amount of waste created by single-use bottles in the spirits industry,” says Gavin Lee, General Partner of Wavemaker Partners. “We were intrigued by their insights and amazed by the progress they’ve made in terms of product development, customer interest and adoption. It’s not very often that we get to invest in an early-stage start-up that is growing fast while delivering positive EBITDA. We are excited to be part of the company’s push to build the pioneering intelligent circular economy for the spirits industry that will be sustainable on so many levels.”

The close of this funding transaction also marks the completion of the spinout of ecoSPIRITS from Proof & Company, the award-winning independent spirits company that incubated the ecoSPIRITS brand and technology starting in 2016. As a stand-alone technology company, ecoSPIRITS is now poised to work with a broader network of spirit brand partners, distributors and hospitality operators across a range of global geographies. This independence will allow ecoSPIRITS to further its standing as the global market leader in circular packaging hardware and technology solutions for the spirits industry.

“With this transaction, ecoSPIRITS is well-positioned to welcome a global network of partners onto the platform,” notes Spencer Forhart, Chairman of Proof & Company, “The ecoSPIRITS technology’s impact on our Asia Pacific distribution business has been nothing short of transformative, both commercially and environmentally. We look forward to furthering and expanding our partnership with ecoSPIRITS in the years ahead.”