NEW YORK – HiLine Coffee Company has announced the close of its first round of financing after raising $500,000 from an oversubscribed group of private investors.
Since launching on July 4th, 2013, HiLine Coffee has experienced rapid growth and is already selling hundreds of thousands of coffee capsules per month. With the proceeds raised, HiLine Coffee will work on new product development and expanding its coffee selection.
According to a recent Mintel Group survey, the U.S. single serve coffee capsule market was expected to exceed $3 billion in 2013, which is a 213% rise from 2011. HiLine Coffee stands to profit from this substantial industry growth rate.
HiLine Coffee was created with the goal of bringing new quality to the emerging Nespresso coffee market at an affordable price (20% less than brand).
With its small size and limited production, the company is taking a fundamentally different approach to capsule coffee production with an emphasis on quality from the farm to cup, with no celebrity spokespeople or expensive boutiques.
The founders, Gene Kakaulin, a certified barista, and Ted Snyder, a serial entrepreneur, stand by their product and offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
“After trying HiLine coffee and understanding the innovative business model, I wanted to invest,” said Zachary Smith, Co-Founder of Voxel, a New York-based cloud hosting company.
He added, “HiLine’s mission to provide the highest quality product in the single serve category is a great technical challenge, which is why this company is so exciting.”
HiLine Coffee’s strategy is to reach beyond in-home use and target businesses that pride themselves on offering their employees finer in-office perks, such as convenient specialty coffee. HiLine has already received favorable reception from high profile companies such as Paddle8, Citi Bike, Tough Mudder, Samsung, Union Square Ventures, Plated, Pixable, and many others.
Aditya Julka, co-founder of New York-based online auction house Paddle8 said, “Our office relies on HiLine’s premium coffee—and our energy has certainly increased since we began stocking the coffee!”
