Run The Jewels gains $2m investment for RTDs
Juice Runners, the ready-to-drink (RTD) brand from hip-hop duo Run The Jewels, has raised US$2 million in a seed funding round.
The brand launched in spring 2025 with a 5.9% ABV mezcal-based canned cocktail called the Paloma Remix.
It was initially self-funded by the Run The Jewels duo of Killer Mike (real name Michael Santiago Render) and EL-P (real name Jaime Stuart Meline) through an artist-led model.
The duo first reinvested proceeds from artist merchandise sales to develop the brand before looking outside for investment. The idea is to keep creative control while scaling deliberately.
Having closed the seed round at US$2m, the team will now focus on new product development, expanding production and national expansion in the US.
Later this year, Juice Runners will introduce a second rum-based canned cocktail to the range, titled Sea Legs, as well as a bottled collectors’ rum crafted with St Lucia Distillers in collaboration with spirits expert Fred Minnick.
El-P said: “This was never about slapping our name on a bottle. Juice Runners comes from the same place as everything we’ve built – doing the work, respecting the craft, and making something we actually stand behind.”
In its debut year in 2025, EL-P and Killer Mike made a surprise appearance at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans to support the brand and also promoted it as they toured the US in support of Wu-Tang Clan’s The Final Chamber tour.
In addition to the raise, a Juice Runners executive leadership team has formed to lead the brand through its next growth stage.
The brand’s co-founder and Run The Jewels’ co-manager and business partner, Amaechi Uzoigwe, is chairman.
Joe Malcoun has been named chief executive officer, Kate Brankin will serve as chief operating officer, and Leif Huckman has been appointed chief brand officer.
As CEO, Malcoun will oversee Juice Runners’ operations, capital strategy, and national expansion, while Brankin will use her background in formulation, research and development, creative brand direction and operational execution to support Juice Runners’ national growth as COO.
Huckman, meanwhile, is the founder of Williamsburg’s Donna Cocktail Club and has more than 20 years of experience in hospitality, consulting on brands and venues across the US as a beverage director. He will be tasked with leading Juice Runners’ on-trade strategy.
Uzoigwe added: “Juice Runners exists because we didn’t follow the usual playbook. We’ve spent years operating at the intersection of culture and commerce, so our company is built by people who’ve lived it, and who understand how to succeed without losing soul.”
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