Bad Mermaid Access – Investor Deck

Packaging was dead. We gave it a pulse.

This can is the brand. It performs before it’s opened.

Our Story

Energy Drinks Were Falling Short. We Went Deeper.

Big energy chose taurine, synthetic stimulants, and cancer-linked chemicals. We chose the ocean. Same energy. Zero compromise.

We are eliminating artificial sweeteners, and our formula runs on Sea Moss, Sea Salt, and oceanic superfoods packed with natural minerals and functional power your body was built to burn.

Bad Mermaid is a vibe, but it’s also a choice. No synthetic stimulants. No crash. Clean energy, sourced differently, and built to move beyond the can. This isn’t a wellness trend. This is a better formula.

The name? It came from an unfiltered moment of imagination. No boardroom. No Strategy session. That moment built a brand. That brand built a business.

Today, Bad Mermaid is minority- and female-led with 20+ years of groundbreaking, category-defining experience behind every decision. We don’t follow playbooks. We write them. Aligned on execution. Disciplined on scale. Relentless on delivery.

Market

We Are Reshaping the Energy Drink Landscape.

The Ocean Gave Us the Edge No Lab Could

The energy drink industry is accelerating, and it’s shifting. The U.S. energy drinks market was valued at $25 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $45 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 7.2%. This isn’t a trend. This is a category in full expansion.

But here’s what the headline numbers don’t tell you: the real growth isn’t happening in the middle of the market. It’s happening at the edges where consumers are walking away from synthetic, artificial, legacy formulas and demanding something better.

The global organic energy drinks market is valued at $10.2 billion in 2025 and projected to reach $28.3 billion by 2035, growing at a CAGR of 10.73%, outpacing the broader category. The consumer signal is unambiguous: nearly 63% of consumers are prioritizing clean-label beverages, and 57% are actively seeking plant-based energy sources.

When major acquisition activity replaces speculation, the conversation shifts. Clean energy isn’t the category everyone is watching anymore. It’s the category everyone is chasing.

That’s where Bad Mermaid comes in. We’re not fighting for shelf space. We’re building the shelf as one of the leading companies that has created a new category of healthy energy drinks others haven’t claimed yet.

Note: Market data sourced from third-party industry research reports. Projections are estimates and not guarantees of future performance (Grand View Research, Global Growth Insights).

Culture Owned Brands Win.

Culture plus ownership created category-defining exits such as Vitaminwater, Cîroc, Ace of Spades.

What it Takes to Make a Can.

Production costs are approximately $1.05 per can, including ingredients, packaging, and freight. As volume scales, costs decline while margins improve, supported by a disciplined and efficient cost structure.

Built for Everyone Who Refuses to Settle.

HEALTH-CONSCIOUS CONSUMERS

They’ve read the label on the other cans. They didn’t like what they found. Bad Mermaid is the clean, crave-worthy alternative they’ve been waiting for. It’s the energy that fits the life they’re actually living.

ATHLETES

Performance without compromise. Sea moss, Sea salt and Oceanic superfoods deliver the minerals and sustained output serious athletes need, minus the synthetic junk their bodies don’t.

GAMERS

Hours of focus demand fuel that doesn’t quit. No jitters. No mid-session crash. Just clean, sustained energy built to keep them locked in from the first load screen to the final round.

COLLEGE STUDENTS

Late nights, early classes, and zero tolerance for a crash at any time. Bad Mermaid fuels the grind without the guilt and looks good doing it.

This is How We Show Up.

Make Noise.
Launch drops, collabs, and culture-first campaigns.

Get Tasted.
Sampling, seeding, and IRL moments.

Show Up in Retail.
High-velocity doors with real pull.

Move Product.
Sell-through systems, not shelf-sitting.

Bad Mermaid Merch

Bad Mermaid Merch extends the brand beyond the can. Demand for the logos and visuals already exists, allowing the line to scale independently.

Margins Live Where Our Product Moves With Purpose

DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER

The highest margin channel is also our most powerful brand channel. Full control of the story, the customer relationship, and the revenue. No middleman. No dilution. Pure signal.

GYMS

Gyms aren’t just a distribution channel. They’re a performance channel. Direct access to the most health-conscious, ingredient-aware, and brand-vocal consumers in the market. No noise. No skepticism. Pure alignment.

COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES

This is where brand identity gets cemented. First access to the most influential consumer demographic in the market. Full control of the introduction, the experience, and the relationship. No filters. No competition. Just straight to the people who decide what’s next.

SPECIALTY RETAIL

Where premium lives. Culture-forward doors, from wellness centers to food trucks, that attract the consumer Bad Mermaid was built for. The placement says everything before the can is even opened.

SAMPLING & PROMO

Every dollar here is a conversion play. Trial drives traction. Traction drives loyalty. Loyalty drives everything else. We sample to build a customer for life.

How It Builds

COGS hold at $0.95 or lower.
Volume drives cost down, margin up.
Break-even hits at 2.2M units.
This isn’t scale at any cost.
It’s scale with control.

This Is What Changes With the Right Partner.

We're not just raising capital. We're selecting who builds this with us.

The energy is already here. The formula is built. The distribution is activated. Los Angeles is the launch pad. Louisiana, Arizona, and Texas are next. The roadmap is locked. What accelerates everything is you.

Limited releases that create demand.
Flavor drops tied to real cultural moments.
Direct-to-consumer traction that builds the brand before retail even catches up.

This is how category leaders are made and this is the moment to get in before the market catches on.

You get in at the ground floor of a category shift.

The majors are already spending billions to acquire what they couldn’t build. Early investors in this space don’t chase the wave. They own it.

Bad Mermaid isn’t being manufactured into culture. It already lives there. The community, the aesthetic, and the story moves the product before a single paid media dollar drops. That’s brand equity money can’t manufacture on its own.

And the business is built with two revenue streams running in parallel: the energy drink and a merch line that turns brand loyalty into a second income stream. Investors don’t just get a beverage company. They get a brand with multiple ways to win.

Use of Funds

Every Dollar Has a Job. $5 million in. Growth, velocity, and market dominance out.

MARKETING & GROWTH

This is where awareness becomes obsession. Sampling activations, paid media, influencer partnerships, Instacart shelf presence, and PR that puts Bad Mermaid in front of the right eyes at the right moment. Demand doesn’t build itself. We build it deliberately.

INVENTORY & SUPPLY CHAIN

You can’t sell what you can’t produce. Can production, ingredient sourcing, and co-packing are the backbone of every unit sold and every margin earned. We scale supply in lockstep with demand — no gaps, no shortcuts.

TEAM & OPS

The right people in the right seats. Key hires, distribution support, and the backend infrastructure that keeps a scaling brand from breaking under its own momentum. Execution is a competitive advantage. We’re building ours.

RETAIL EXPANSION SUPPORT

Getting on the shelf is only the beginning. In-store demos, shelf presence investment, and strategic promo allowances ensure Bad Mermaid sells. Pull-through isn’t an afterthought. It’s the plan.

2026 Activations

Q1

FOUNDATION Months 1–3 | Infrastructure activates

Q2

IGNITION Months 4–6 | Brand hits culture

Q3

VELOCITY Months 7–9 | Market saturation

Scale into additional grocery doors based on Q2 sell-through performance.
Launch market expansion into Louisiana, Arizona, and Texas
Launch activations and digital community plays.
Expand DTC with limited flavor or merch drops to drive urgency and repeat purchase.
Hit break-even trajectory milestones.

Q4

SCALE Months 10–12 | Brand expansion

Deepen retail penetration across Louisiana, Arizona, and Texas converting early placements into full regional footprints.
Evaluate Series A or next raise readiness.
Activate holiday and cultural moment campaigns across all active markets. Lock in 2026 distribution agreements.
Report on unit velocity, margin performance, and retail ROI against projections.
Arrive at year-end with proof of concept, pull-through data, and a brand the market already knows.

We’re Raising $5M

To fuel growth, scale retail, and drive velocity

OFFERING AMOUNT $5,000,000

Investments above the minimum investment must be made in $10,000.00 increments

INDUSTRY

Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) – Functional Beverages

SECURITY TYPE

Equity/ Convertible Note

USE OF FUNDS

Marketing, Inventory, Retail Expansion, Team

MATURITY (Convertible Notes)

24 Months, with the option for an extension upon the request of the Majority Holders

AVAILABLE TO

Accredited Investors

CONTACT

Joelle Paul-Cook, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Joelle@badmermaid.com

Our Team.

This is the group building and running Bad Mermaid. Operators, creatives, and connectors who know how to move product, build brand, and execute without noise. Different backgrounds, shared standards, and a focus on getting things done.

Joelle Paul-Cook, Ph.D.

Executive Officer joelle@badmermaid.com

Alex Enriquez

Chief Operating Officer
alex@badmermaid.com

Matt Peterson

Head of Business Development
petey@badmermaid.com

Karen McDougal

Senior Brand Ambassador

Shirley Hon

Global Brand Ambassador