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News
Jay-Z invests in Finnish Long Drink
Marcy Venture Partners, co-founded by rapper Jay-Z, has taken a minority stake in pre-mixed brand The Finnish Long Drink.
Marcy Venture Partners was co-founded in 2018 by Shawn Carter (known professionally as Jay-Z), Jay Brown and Larry Marcus.
Jay-Z joins a number of investors in The Finnish Long Drink including actor Miles Teller, professional golfers Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas, and Norwegian DJ Kygo.
The ready-to-drink brand was launched in 2018 with the aim of bringing Finland’s national drink to the US. In Finland, ‘long drink’ (in Finnish lonkero) refers to a mixed drink made from gin and, most commonly, grapefruit soda.
The Finnish Long Drink continues to be run by co-founders Sakari Manninen, Mikael Taipale and Ere Manner, alongside American entrepreneur Evan Burns.
“It was love at first sip. Just have a taste and it’s clear why this national treasure of Finland is now storming North America,” said Marcus, who is managing director of Marcy Venture Partners. “We’re honoured to partner with Evan, Mikael, Ere, Sakari, and the team.”
The Finnish Long Drink surpassed one million nine-litre cases in 2022 and was named the fastest-growing spirit brand in The Brand Champions 2023 report.
The expression is available in 43 US states and was recently launched in Western Canada.
Burns, who is CEO of The Finnish Long Drink, added: “We’re excited to partner with Marcy Venture Partners to grow our distribution and expand our marketing to bring one of the best-tasting and coolest beverages in the industry to stores across the USA.
“We started Long Drink because we love the drink from Finland, and Marcy Venture Partners got involved because they share our passion. While we were the fastest-growing spirit in the world last year, it’s still a well-kept secret, so we want to introduce the drink to the rest of them. Together, we believe we can do that faster.”
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
In 2021, the company raised US$25 million to boost distribution and scale production.
In March this year, the brand added a peach flavour to its range.