Sparkling soda startup Kaoba has raised £500k to help it scale in 2026.
The funding – from a customer who “strongly connected with the drink and brand” – gives the business the capability to secure long-term juice supply contracts and push production from 10,000 to 250,000 batches.
It will also support the launch of two new flavours and kick off R&D for the juice aisle.
Kaoba produces a 100% natural fizzy soda made from the pulp of cacao fruit. It offers an original SKU and a garden mint variant, with NPD in ginger and cherry to follow.
The brand has expanded into 600 locations across the UK, as well as distributing in Italy, Greece, Switzerland and the UAE, since its February 2025 launch.
“We launched with £5k and stayed laser-focused on remaining bootstrapped, reinvesting revenues and deliberately avoiding debt,” MD Mathew Halford said.
“That approach served us well in year one, but it became clear that to scale meaningfully we needed to raise capital.”
Halford has so far run the business solo but is currently recruiting a chief marketing officer.
“Our vision is to challenge the coconut water category [with the expansion into the juice category],” he added. “Cacao fruit juice is more versatile, fully sustainable and, arguably, better tasting. Achieving this will require multiple funding rounds this year, which we’re actively planning toward.”
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