Iris Nova Wants to Be the Coca-Cola of Wellness Beverages, CEO Says
*By Chloe Aiello*
Health beverage company Iris Nova is modeling itself after its latest, greatest investor, Coca-Cola.
"The legacy and infrastructure they've built globally is really a model for what we'd like to build with Iris Nova," CEO and co-founder Zak Normandin told Cheddar Monday. "There's no better partner to kind of guide us along that path than Coca-Cola."
Beverage behemoth Coca Cola ($KO) led the latest $15 million round of funding for Iris Nova, the New York-based parent company of health beverage brand Dirty Lemon. Actress Sophia Bush and baseball legend Alex Rodriguez also participated in the round, [according to Crunchbase](https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/dirty-lemon-beverages-3/investors/investors_list#section-investors). Normandin said he'd like to use the funding to eventually expand the number of brands under the Iris Nova umbrella.
And the company is getting started right away. Normandin said the company already has plans to launch a new brand, the alcohol-free aperitif Tres Limon, and has another product coming for the second half of 2019. It's also planning to expand its retail concept, The Drug Store, to a second location in New York City ー joining one currently in Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood ー as well as to Miami and Los Angeles.
Dirty Lemon, which is known for adding unusual ingredients, like turmeric, collagen, and charcoal, to its beverages also briefly had a CBD beverage on the market, [but pulled it in early November](https://www.cheddar.com/videos/dirty-lemon-pulls-cbd-drink-from-shelves-over-legal-worries).
At the time, Normandin told Cheddar that the company's decision to remove the CBD-infused drink from the market came down to legal concerns, saying the company was “not in a position to take that risk right now.”
On Monday, he expanded on that reasoning, adding that the decision had more to do with CBD's tenuous legal status than Coke's investment.
"We were just trying to button up the company. In going through a big round of funding like this, we were just making sure that legally we were in a good place to take on that capital," Normandin said.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/iris-nova-ceo-says-dirty-lemon-is-only-a-text-message-away).
Orangetheory Fitness is redefining the future of workouts with smarter tech, strength-based programming, and community-driven studios built for what’s next.
Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
