Tom Holland's BERO Raises Over $100 Million Valuation with Paine Schwartz Investment
BERO did not start in a boardroom or a branding deck. It started in London in 2022, with Tom Holland stepping away from alcohol and realizing the so-called alternatives tasted like compromise in a glass. October 2024 became the moment that frustration turned into product, built alongside John Herman, a beverage operator who knows what scale feels like when it bites back. The idea was simple and stubborn. Non-alcoholic beer should still taste like beer. No lectures. No moral theater. Just something worth ordering twice.
New York became the headquarters, but the ambition never stayed local. In its first year on shelves, BERO pushed nearly $10M in revenue and moved faster than most beverage startups dare to model. National retail landed in under 12 months. Amazon crowned it the top non-alcoholic beer. Target rolled it into more than 1,400 stores for the largest NA beverage launch the category has seen. Quietly loud numbers, the kind that make buyers lean forward instead of nod politely.
The product earns its confidence the hard way. Grant Wood, the brewmaster behind Twisted Tea and Angry Orchard, engineered a process that skips alcohol removal entirely. A maltose negative yeast does the work in 48 hours, holding flavor where others strip it out. Four beers, all under 0.5% ABV, named after Tom Holland’s own markers of life. Kingston Golden Pils. Edge Hill Hazy IPA. Noon Wheat. Double Tasty West Coast IPA. Personal without being precious.
January 20, 2026 locked the next chapter. Paine Schwartz Partners led a Series A through BetterCo Holdings, joined again by Imaginary Ventures, pushing BERO past a $100M valuation. The round size stayed private. The signal did not. Capital like that shows up when momentum is already breathing on its own. John Herman has been clear about where it goes next. Sales teams expand. On-premise gets real attention. Bars, restaurants, lounges, places where beer is culture, not just inventory.
That strategy is already leaking into the world. Barry’s made BERO its exclusive non-alcoholic beer across ninety-six studios in seventeen countries. Aston Martin signed a three-year partnership. Chase Sapphire lounges started pouring it where premium expectations are unforgiving. Soho House opened the door in the UK. This is not abstinence branding. It is lifestyle placement with a pulse.
BERO feels less like a celebrity product and more like a disciplined bet on timing. Drinking is declining. Taste still matters. People want the option without the sermon. The company is building where those lines intersect, and the next moves will say a lot about how big that intersection really is.