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Western Australia-based functional beverage company Kommunity Brew has acquired Melbourne’s Cool Cool Beverage Company (CCBC). The acquisition sees Kommunity Brew add the Sips Sparkling and Liberty Kombucha brands to its portfolio and opens up immediate export opportunities for the company via Sips Sparkling’s shelf-stable product range. Mason Bagios, CEO of Kommunity Brew, said that factors driving the purchase included CCBC’s Melbourne headquarters, its distribution network including existing relationships with Coles, Woolworths and Amazon, and access to the sparkling water sector. Bagios said: “The integration of CCBC into our business is a major milestone in the evolution of Kommunity Brew, putting us in a strong position to increase our profile in the Eastern States, while improving operating margins from a Melbourne manufacturing base”. He explained that the Sips Sparkling and Liberty Kombucha brands and values are “very much aligned” with those of Kommunity Brew, represented in their quality, local manufacturing, “unique” recipes and “smooth processes”. In a statement announcing the acquisition, Kommunity Brew said it resonated with CCBC’s story of “humble beginnings”. Bagois added that beverage brands are difficult to build, highlighting that their creators often demonstrate “outstanding innovation”. “CCBC has developed innovative products that have all had a bedrock of creativity. We love the bold positioning of the Sips Sparkling and Liberty Kombucha brands and because we relate to the difficulty of brand-building we see value where an institutional investor might see risk,” he explained. The recent acquisition is Kommunity Brew’s second. The company purchased the Cold Matter Cold Brew brand in 2022 from the founders of Black Matter Coffee Roasters.