Bear Fight receives $1.9m investment

American single malt whiskey Bear Fight, co-owned by Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, has secured US$1.9 million in funding.

The investment was received from Texan banking firm Valedor Partners and Matthew Bronfman, chairman of third-party spirits producer Next Century Spirits, which produces Bear Fight whiskey.

The investment will be put towards maximising the visibility of Bear Fight as it approaches its first official launch campaign.

Shawn Patterson, managing partner at Valedor, said: “Craft spirits’ rapid growth in the past decade points to a secular trend with today’s consumers who are actively seeking out innovative spirits categories and brands.

“While produced around the world, single malt whiskey has only recently been defined as a category by US regulators.

“We expect the American single malt will be a growth category not only in the US but around the world. Supported by Seth MacFarlane’s unique voice and incredible talent, Bear Fight has the potential to disrupt this emerging category and have fun doing it.”

MacFarlane became an equity stakeholder and chief storyteller for the brand in 2022.

“As an American-made craft whiskey brand, Bear Fight is in acceleration mode from a promotional and distributional lens,” said Anthony Moniello, co-chief executive officer at Next Century Spirits.

“This new round of funding will allow us to bring Bear Fight to more consumers across the United States, while also allowing us to bring our brand story to life with our chief storyteller Seth MacFarlane.”

In March this year, Moniello revealed he had ​​noticed high demand for American whiskey in Asia, as interest wanes in the US.

“Being back in the alcohol business was always a personal goal for me, especially with my family ties to the industry,” said Bronfman.

“I started investing in Next Century Spirits because of its visionary production process – with Bear Fight we can truly see the power of Next Century Spirits technology shine.”