East Forged Confirms AUD $1.5M Raised for Asian Expansion
When Guinness revolutionised beer with nitrogen infusion in the 1950s, few could have predicted the same technology would transform tea seven decades later. East Forged, a Queensland-based beverage innovator, is doing exactly that – and catching the attention of major Asian agricultural investors in the process. Their recent AUD $1.5 million capital injection isn’t just another funding round, it’s a verdict on how the next generation of consumers might reimagine their relationship with the world’s second-most consumed beverage.
To understand the vision behind this transformative approach, we sat down with East Forged co-founder, Kym Cooper – who joins us six years on from her first appearance on the podcast.
Interview with Kym Cooper
Can you elaborate on the strategic significance of the AUD $1.5 million investment from Global Mind Agriculture Australia and how this partnership aligns with East Forged’s goals for Asian market expansion?
Our investment was led by Global Mind Agriculture Australia (GMAA) and the venture capital arm of Vietnam’s leading agribusiness, TTC AgriS. The strategic partnership with our shareholder provides reach and a depth of experience that would take us many years to build ourselves. Having already commenced studies in a few international markets, we know it takes the right channel partners, knowledge, networks and capital to be successful.
Whilst we can move quickly as a small challenger brand, to have the knowledge and experience supporting this expansion we are better positioned for success from the outset.
Can you share an overview of East Forged’s unique nitrogen-infused cold brew tea process, how it aims to elevate the consumer experience and what impact this has had on your market positioning?
East Forged was created with a mission to offer consumers a tea experience that goes beyond exceptional taste. Rooted in a commitment to health, sustainability and craftsmanship, East Forged sources its green, black, and white tea leaves from ethical growers in Australia and China. Each batch is brewed in Sydney for up to 12 hours using a cold-brewing process that enhances the delicate, nuanced flavours of the tea, removing the need for added sugars or sweeteners.
We set out to elevate tea from a functional beverage to something much more refined, similar to what the craft beer industry has achieved. By cold-brewing, we’ve created a naturally flavourful tea that doesn’t need any of the sugars or artificial additives typically found in commercial iced teas.
The innovative cold-brewing process, combined with nitrogen infusion at the canning stage, sets East Forged apart from others in the market. This infusion process, inspired by the smooth pour of Guinness, adds a unique creaminess and luxurious mouthfeel to the tea, providing a sensory experience that is rare in the iced tea market.
East Forged has received funding from both private investors and the Federal Government’s Boosting Female Founders (BFF) grant. How did these two types of funding influence your business development at different stages?
For anyone that has raised capital for a consumer product brand, they’ll know that finding sources of funding beyond bootstrapping is difficult. Despite this, we have had a very intentional fundraising strategy at East Forged and have only ever pursued funding sources that were strategically aligned.
In the early days (pre-revenue) one of the only avenues for funding was government grants. The BFF was unique in that it was sizeable and it required us to bring in matched co-investment. We were fortunate that our distributors, Caplan, personally offered to come on to our cap table and match the grant funds. The grant was offerred at a time when we realised we still had a lot to learn about sales and distribution to achieve scale. Jamie and Oz, provided specialist support and patient capital, allowing us to set ourselves up with the right foundations for retail growth. We stretched the money, giving us 24 months runway to keep building our business, get our production, distribution and sales in line to achieve ranging in our first national retailers.
The most recent source of investment from GMAA was also strategic. It was more significant in size and it was critical for scaling.
TTC AgriS emphasises sustainable growth and a circular economic model. How does this align with East Forged’s own sustainability objectives and how does it influence the shared vision for Asian market success?
ESG is at the forefront of our business model. Despite our size, my Chartered Accounting background, has drilled into me International Financial Reporting Standards, so our accounting policies – the way we account for revenue and inventory – are all aligned with the standards. I see this as best practice. The International Sustainability Standards have now been adopted in Australia and will come into effect over the next 18-24 months. Whilst we fall outside of the businesses required to disclose we will use the standards as best practice on how we start collecting and reporting data around Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
Our partnership with TTC AgriS is exciting as they are already supplying raw materials to much of the EU that has established tracking, measuring and reporting protocols so we will be able to learn and adapt practices relating to our future requirements.
As an Australian brand entering Asian markets, how does East Forged plan to navigate regional consumer preferences?
We undertake deep market research when considering export markets. We desktop research and use resources from agencies such as Trade and Investment Queensland (TiQ) and Austrade to obtain a broad based understanding of channels to market and the macroeconomic environment.
To really get into the depths of understanding consumers you have to immerse yourself. We like to get a baseline of how people go about their day-to-day by walking the cities, watching people shop, tasting the food, walking the supermarket aisles and we certainly drink a lot of beverages!
What we find interesting is that our drinks appeal to younger drinkers in a number of markets. My Co-founder, Tania, met an older distributor in South Korea at a tradeshow who wasn’t so sure about our beverages but he wasn’t there alone. He had brought his son whose opinion he valued in considering our drinks because it provided a Gen Z lens. His son loved our drinks and immediately could see it being enjoyed right alongside Korean Fried Chicken!
In your view, what economic trends or consumer shifts are driving growth in the craft tea movement and how is East Forged prepared to navigate the evolving landscape?
Tea is uniquely placed as an inclusive beverage that when crafted well matches occasion with all the health benefits. There are a couple of interesting trends happening at the moment that create the perfect conditions for fundamental change and unprecedented growth in tea consumption.
The Rise of Gen Z – This generation is unlike any other that has preceded us – digital first, fluid and internationalised. The impact this generation will have on food and drink consumption is so exciting, they are looking for opportunities to socialise around food and drink and are far less interested in alcohol.
The Rise of Coffee Prices – it will be interesting to see where tea will land with the increasing price of coffee as well as cost of living pressures. There is a real opportunity for category growth if the tea industry can have the right crafted tea drinks available to meet consumers as they start to reconsider their spending habits around coffee – particularly in the on-the-go segment.
From a management perspective, what challenges do you anticipate in scaling production at your Sydney facility and how will this expansion support long-term sustainability and product consistency?
From our inventory demand modelling, we have long been aware that our co-packer in Sydney will reach a capacity to supply once we hit a certain number of distribution points. Over the past 2 years we have been building relationships and assessing partners in search of a secondary co-packing site that will increase production capacity and reduce single supplier risk.
Selecting the right partners and building relationships is the key to underpinning the processes and systems to achieve quality and consistency in co-packing. Beyond this, we are committed to bringing aspects of our manufacturing process in-house – allowing us to accelerate R&D projects, control unit economics and secure our IP.
This interview has been edited for clarity and consistency.
