• Seeking operational synergies with better-for-you beverage brands or products
• Recently closed USD 15m Series B funding round

The Ryl Company, a better-for-you iced tea company, will be focused on M&A in the next 2-4 years after it finalized its Series B funding round, said founder and CEO Blodin Ukella.

The Cedar Knolls, New Jersey-based company will look for a company with clear operational synergies, such as another better-for-you beverage brand or product that can be easily transitioned into The Ryl Company’s portfolio. The company’s cash position puts it in a “strong position” to self-finance an acquisition, the CEO noted.

“We are absolutely going to be focused on M&A in the next 2-4 years,” Ukella said.

The company recently announced it closed a USD 15m Series B funding round, which will go towards increasing the distribution of its flagship product, Ryl Tea, to over 40,000 stores by the end of 2025.

Capital will also be allocated towards innovation, operations, and strengthening the team, Ukella said.

The company will likely look for additional financing in 2026 or early 2027 as well, the CEO said. The size of a potential Series C will depend on how quickly the company wants to drive its organizational structure investments and whether the board is open to taking on any new strategic investors by then, Ukella said.

“Given we have been self-funded since day one, we will likely only do a larger raise if the timing works to bring in a larger scale strategic growth partner,” Ukella noted.

The company has been primarily funded by the same investor base since its founding, Ukella said. Country singer Morgan Wallen is one of the company’s major investors, Ukella noted. Aside from being an investor, the singer is also a marketing partner; Wallen has been integral in the company’s push to reach mass audiences in a short time, he noted.

Ukella declined to share the company’s current financials but noted that The Ryl Company has experienced triple-digit growth year-over-year since its founding and expects to be cash flow positive in 2026.

The company has a path to building a brand that could generate upwards of USD 300m plus for the ready-to-drink tea space by 2028, Ukella said.

The CEO said PepsiCo’s recent USD 1.95bn acquisition of prebiotic soda brand Poppi, the largest food and beverage deal announced to this point in 2025, validated the demand for functional, better-for-you beverages. Numerous similarities can be drawn between Poppi and The Ryl Company, Ukella said.

“The same folks that have helped fuel and supercharge a brand like Poppi are the same folks that we deal with day in, day out,” Ukella said. “Retailers and direct-store-delivery (DSD) distribution partners in the non-alcoholic beverage space that are ahead of emerging brand growth. A lot of our footprint from a DSD route to market standpoint is very reminiscent of that of a world-class brand like Poppi, but our retail alignment and partnership depth capability is very, very similar as well.”

Ukella has no plans to exit The Ryl Company in the next few years but admitted that his company would likely be a high-value target for strategic acquirers.

“I always tell people, we’re not in the build a business to sell landscape,” Ukella said. “We’re going to build a business that we never have to sell. Hopefully, one day, an acquisition only happens in the event that we want to take the brand to the next level with somebody that can supercharge it to even further growth that we can do ourselves.”

Aside from Arizona Iced Tea, the top five competitive brands in the ready-to-drink iced tea space are all strategically held, Ukella noted, including PepsiCo’s Pure Leaf and Lipton, Coca-Cola’s Gold Peak and Keurig Dr Pepper’s Snapple. Ryl Tea “absolutely” can crack that top five ranking by 2028, Ukella said.

Founded in 2022, The Ryl Company’s Ryl Tea is a functional, better-for-you iced tea brand that contains zero sugar, less than five calories and no artificial ingredients.

The company had 9 to 12 employees in 2023, around 39 in 2024 and will have close to over 100 by the end of 2025, the CEO said. Chairman Leigh Feuerstein serves as the company’s financial advisor. Ukella declined to name the company’s legal advisor.