MANAMA: Dallaspresso, a localised coffee and tea capsule specialist, has become the second Bahraini start-up to get a cash influx in Beban, the kingdom’s version of famous US show ‘Shark Tank’.
The boutique beverage business secured $212,000 in a funding round that took place on the food and beverage-themed second episode of Bahrain’s first entrepreneurship themed reality TV series on Wednesday.
The founders of Dallaspresso said they plan to use the funds to expand the business regionally with products already being sold in Kuwait and Oman.
The company makes coffee capsules in flavours ranging from Arabic to Turkish and European as well as tea premixes including cardamom and saffron karak, filling a gap in the market.
Commenting on the investment, Ali Mohsin, founder of Dallaspresso, said: “As a long-time coffee lover, it was important to launch a business that exhibited a unique Arabic flavour profile. Dallaspresso has garnered the attention of investors as they also believe in the potential of this large and promising market. The investment will enable us to take the business towards greater success and achieve our goal of reaching global markets.”
Aimed at “enabling, encouraging and empowering” Bahrainis to launch and grow businesses, Beban is an initiative of Hope Ventures, the investment arm of Hope Fund.
Angel investors joined Hope Ventures in capitalising Dallaspresso, giving it the opportunity to expand both regionally and globally, while also growing its reach within Bahrain using co-investors’ expertise to contribute towards marketing and distribution.
Explaining why Hope Ventures decided to invest, general manager Fajer Alpachachi said: “Ali showcased strong implementation capabilities as he was able to turn his passion into a successful business with high potential for scalability through distribution and export. Catering to a growing industry in the region, Dallaspresso meets to the existing need for a facilitated coffee-making experience that can be easily used with any device.”
Mission
She added that Hope is excited at the opportunity of identifying more “local, ambitious founders with unique businesses that are ready to grow exponentially on an international level” through Beban.
“We are on an ongoing mission to find similar founders and invest in them towards global success.”
The investor panel on the food and beverage episode featured Khalid Al Amin, the head of the food wealth committee at the Bahrain Chamber, Mohammed Al Aali, Hadi Diwani and Youth and Sport Affairs Minister Ayman Almoayyed, who is also chairman of Hope Fund.
Set up in 2020, the fund is an initiative by His Majesty King Hamad’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs and Royal Humanitarian Foundation chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa to support youth projects.
The second episode of Beban also showcased promising businesses from the sector including Popilicious, offering self-decorating candy kits, and Hamada Bee, a business specialising in producing high quality natural honey.
The start-ups received support in the form of opportunities to showcase their products in City Centre Bahrain, LuLu Hypermarket, and Midway Supermarkets.
In the first episode of Beban, Hope Ventures co-invested $500,000 in edtech platform Lumofy.
A new episode of Beban will air every Wednesday this month at 6pm on BTV. The next episode on February 16 will feature sports businesses.
The show can also be viewed anytime on Shahid, the MBC Group’s Arabic streaming platform.
avinash@gdn.com.bh
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