Strategic financing supports the brand's growing retail footprint, including launches at Walmart, Kroger, H-E-B, Wegmans, Hy-Vee, Target and 7-Eleven.
Final Boss Sour, the gaming-themed better-for-you snack alternative brand known for its bold, retro-gaming-inspired sour snacks, and built in studio by Science Inc, announced today that it has raised $4 million in a strategic funding round. The round includes new investors Evolution VC Partners, The Angel Group, Mondelez International SnackFutures Ventures and other strategic investors, with participation from returning investors Melitas Ventures and GFR Fund. Final Boss Sour will soon be available at Walmart, Kroger, H-E-B, Wegmans and Hy-Vee, with launches planned at Target and 7-Eleven this fall.
Final Boss Sour is made with real dried fruits, including strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, mangoes, pineapples, kiwis, cherries and apricots. Each piece is candied with a proprietary sour coating to balance the real fruit sweetness and create the brand's signature flavor. The core lineup features four escalating levels of sourness, delivering an interactive, gaming-inspired snacking experience without artificial colors or artificial fruit flavors.
"We are the fastest-growing sour snack brand in the country," said James Hicks, co-founder and general manager of Final Boss Sour. "Our customers have shown there is demand for a better sour snack made with real dried fruit instead of artificial gummy candy. We’ve seen that demand translate into high velocity across our early retail tests. With this new funding we will expand our retail footprint while continuing to create the bold new flavors and collaborations our fans love."
Final Boss Sour has generated more than 2 billion organic video views across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, built the largest YouTube subscriber base of any sour candy brand, and become the largest sour candy brand on TikTok Shop. The brand has fueled that growth through a steady cadence of monthly product launches and collaborations with cultural icons and brands, including NHL star Trevor Zegras, MLB star Jazz Chisholm Jr., PAC-MAN and G FUEL, helping turn each release into a social media event that drives fan engagement and retail demand.
"One of the biggest advantages of being a digital-first brand is that we can listen to our community and respond quickly," said Tommy Riggs, co-founder of Final Boss Sour. "We built the largest YouTube subscriber base of any sour snack brand by giving fans something new to engage with every month. Whether it's a new flavor, like our Level 3 Sour Shirley Temple Cherries or a collaboration like our PAC-MAN Pineapple Dippers, every launch creates new reasons for our community to come back, participate and share.”
"The Final Boss Sour playbook is fundamentally different from how most consumer brands have historically grown," said Michael Jones, General Partner at Science Inc. "The team built demand through content and community first, then translated that momentum into retail expansion. That's a powerful validation for a viral snack, and one we believe is just getting started."
The round brings together a group of strategic investors that will support Final Boss Sour's continued growth.
"We're excited to welcome new investment partners whose expertise extends well beyond capital," said Priscilla Guevara, General Partner and Head of Investor Relations at Science Inc. "Strategic investors play an important role in helping emerging brands navigate their next stage of growth. This group brings deep experience across consumer products, retail and distribution and will help support Final Boss Sour as it continues to scale."
Final Boss Sour was developed in Science Inc.'s startup studio, known for creating category-defining consumer brands including Dollar Shave Club and Liquid Death. Since launching in October 2023, the company has raised a total of $12 million to fuel product innovation, creator partnerships and national retail expansion. Built around real fruit snacks, gaming culture and a social-first growth strategy, Final Boss Sour has rapidly grown into one of the fastest-growing sour snack brands in the country.
About Final Boss Sour
Final Boss Sour is a Los Angeles-based snack company dedicated to providing gaming-themed sour snacks with real fruit and no added sugars. Inspired by the excitement of retro video games, the brand offers a range of sourness levels, challenging snackers to push their taste buds to new extremes. With a commitment to quality ingredients and unique collaborations, Final Boss Sour is rapidly becoming a favorite among adventurous snackers and gamers alike.
For more information, visit finalbosssour.com
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