1Own brand (Spindrift — sparkling water, hard seltzer, soda; national retail)
As of Q1 2025, Spindrift is no longer independent: private equity firm Gryphon Investors holds a majority stake (controlling interest); founder Bill Creelman retained a significant minority stake and serves as board chair; CEO is Dave Burwick (Gryphon-appointed).
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Q1 2025
Majority stake sold to Gryphon Investors (~$650M)
Spindrift agreed to sell a majority stake to San Francisco–based private equity firm Gryphon Investors; the deal was expected to close in Q1 2025 at a valuation of approximately $650 million. Founder and CEO Bill Creelman retained a significant equity stake and became board chair; Dave Burwick (Boston Beer, Peet's, PepsiCo) was appointed CEO. Over the 52 weeks ended Dec 28, 2024, Spindrift generated over $275 million in retail dollar sales with 22% volume growth and reported EBITDA of around $25 million. The brand had nearly tripled in size since 2020.
Class action over "yup, that's it" ingredient claims (dismissed)
Plaintiff Madeline Pantoni filed a class action in the Northern District of California (Pantoni v. Spindrift Beverage Co., 3:23-cv-00014) alleging Spindrift falsely advertised its sparkling water and hard seltzer as containing only two ingredients—sparkling water and real squeezed fruit—while some products contained citric acid. The suit cited the "yup, that's it" slogan and claimed violations of California's Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law, and Consumers Legal Remedies Act. The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the case without prejudice in March 2023 without stating a reason.
Spindrift raised $29.8 million in its largest single funding round at that time, bringing total financing to at least $70 million. A Series C round was also completed in December 2020 (undisclosed). The capital supported scaling production and distribution as the brand grew in the real-fruit sparkling water category.
Expansion into Kroger, Starbucks, and Whole Foods nationwide
Spindrift announced expanded distribution in Kroger, Starbucks, and Whole Foods nationwide, building on existing presence at Target, Trader Joe's, Costco, and Panera. The move coincided with the March 2018 Series B-2 round and the goal to triple distribution to over 25,000 stores and ship 5 million cases that year.
Spindrift closed a $20 million Series B-2 round led by VMG Partners, with Prolog Ventures, KarpReilly, RiverPark Ventures, and existing investors participating. Funds went toward the brand's first national ad campaign, production infrastructure, and distribution growth. The company had seen roughly 1,000% revenue growth over the prior 36 months and had been named to Inc. Magazine's fastest-growing companies list in 2017 as the fastest-growing sparkling water brand.
Spindrift removed all natural flavors from its product line and committed to only real squeezed fruit and sparkling water. By year-end 2017 all shelf products reflected the change. The brand had already positioned itself as the first sparkling water made with real fruit; the move reinforced "yup, that's it" messaging and differentiated it from LaCroix and other seltzers using natural or artificial flavors.
$7.2M raise; packaging refresh and "sparkling water" rebrand
Spindrift completed a $7.2 million capital raise to expand in foodservice and retail. The brand unveiled a packaging refresh and transitioned from "seltzer" to "sparkling water" on pack. Distribution already included Target, Trader Joe's, Costco, and Whole Foods. In August 2017 the company announced a long-term distribution partnership with Big Geyser for the New York metro area.
Spindrift is a member of 1% for the Planet and supports environmental initiatives such as the Billion Oyster Project. The company emphasizes real fruit from family farms and squeezed within days of harvest, and has built its brand around transparency and "real" ingredients.
Bill Creelman founded Spindrift Beverage Co. in Waltham, Massachusetts, to create a sparkling water he could feel good giving his kids and to kick his own soda habit. Spindrift was positioned as America's first sparkling water made with real squeezed fruit—no artificial or natural flavors, no added sugar. The company grew from local distribution to national retail (Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Costco, Kroger, Starbucks) and expanded into hard seltzer and mid-calorie soda; Creelman remained CEO until the 2025 Gryphon deal, when he became board chair.
