Adina takes its first venture funds

Adina For Life (formerly Adina Worldbeat Beverages), which launched in 2006 with Odwalla founder Greg Steltenpohl and Senegalese businesswoman Magatte Wade-Marchand at the helm, announced in late April a $6.6 million Series C funding round, led by Boston-based Sherbrooke Capital. The Seraph Group, an Atlanta-based group of angel investors, also participated. The funding came nearly a year and a half after a $5 million Series B round led by members of San Francisco-based angel investment group Keiretsu Forum.

Two things stood out in the company's announcement: its emphasis on Adina as a purveyor of primarily Fair Trade coffee drinks (it launched as a juice company, with the stated intention of reintroducing traditional juice drinks to their countries of origin, many of which have been taken over by American soft drink companies), and the inclusion of a traditional venture capital firm. Adina's bottled coffee has been outperforming its juices since the product launched in 2007 and was placed on Whole Foods' (Nasdaq: WFMI) mandatory product list.

Sherbrooke, which focuses on health and wellness companies, has made two previous, successful plays in the beverage industry with investments in Oregon Chai and Izze Beverage. In an announcement of the Adina funding, Sherbrooke General Partner John Bello, who was previously the founder and CEO of SoBe Beverages, and who will now join Adina's Board of Directors, cited the popularity of ready-to-drink bottled coffee and authenticity of Adina's brand as motivations for the investment.

"The RTD coffee category is hot—and with exotic, authentic imagery, great flavors, socially responsible better-for-you positioning, and impeccable timing Adina is in the eye of the perfect marketing storm," he said.

This could be a slippery slope for Adina and for Steltenpohl in particular who left Odwalla when the company was taken over by investors who then sold it to Coca Cola (NYSE:KO).

As a result of the funding, Adina will also bring on beverage industry veteran Bruce Shroder, who previously ran the Starbucks/Pepsi Frappaccino Joint Venture and had senior operating experience with Peet's Coffee. The funding agreement also included the formation of a nonprofit foundation devoted to sustainable development. The foundation will be run by Wade-Marchand.