*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).

Share:
More In Business
What Biden's Ban on Russian Oil Imports Could Mean for Growing Energy Costs
As Russia intensifies its war on Ukraine, President Biden announced a ban on oil imported from the aggressor nation. Critics of Russia have said this would be the best way to force Putin to pull back, but curbs on Russian oil exports are expected to send already skyrocketing oil and gas prices even higher, further impacting consumers, businesses, financial markets, and the global economy. Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Energy Workforce and Technology Council, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss. "It's certainly going to increase pricing, but it is the right thing to do," she said. "The industry itself has already pulled out of the significant portion of its operations in Russia."
Breeze Airways Expanding U.S. Operations With 35 New Routes
As airlines recover from COVID-19 and the industry becomes more competitive than ever, low-fare carrier Breeze Airlines is offering 35 new routes and reduced prices for its first-class experiences. CEO David Neeleman joined Cheddar News to talk about the rollout of services amid plenty of headwinds including high fuel costs. "We can limit a lot of costs because we're a technology company that happens to fly airplanes," he noted.
Airbnb Reports Women Hosts Earned Billions Globally in 2021
Despite women as a whole being among the groups most impacted by pandemic job losses, homesharing platform Airbnb reported that women hosts brought in $12 billion in revenue last year. Catherine Powell, Airbnb's global head of hosting, joined Cheddar News to discuss how women hosting has become a huge asset for the company. "Last year 21 percent more women joined the platform than men," she said. "So they are joining the platform. They are being successful. They're more super hosts, and they're doing incredibly well."
Load More