From the editor: Six months with distributors and Fathers is already on shelves at Costco, Trader Joe’s and Erewhon, so somebody is buying the “clean beer” pitch. Now the Restaurant: Impossible guy is in too. Celebrity money in beer is nothing new, and with co-founders who built a skincare brand and an influencer marketing company, this is a brand-building play first. Let’s see how the lager holds up once the sampling budget runs dry.
(LAFAYETTE, CA) – Fathers, the California-based organic clean lager brand, today announced a $2 million funding round six months after launching with distributors. The round includes an investment from chef, entrepreneur and television personality Robert Irvine, who joins as a strategic investor and partner. Irvine brings decades of experience in food, hospitality and consumer brand development to Fathers.
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“I’ve spent my career building businesses around products I believe in, and I’m incredibly selective about where I put my name, my time and my money,” said Irvine. “What attracted me to Fathers wasn’t just the beer, which is excellent. It was the people behind it, their commitment to quality and their understanding of what it takes to build a real brand. I’ve seen firsthand how difficult it is to succeed in the consumer space, and I believe this team has what it takes. I’m investing because I see a business with tremendous potential, and I intend to be an active part of helping it grow.”
“Robert has built genuine trust with consumers and translated that trust into successful businesses,” said Joe Cloyes, co-founder of Fathers. “His decision to invest is a tremendous vote of confidence in what we’re building. As our retail footprint grows, this funding will help us support our distributor and retail partners and introduce more people to Fathers. Robert’s experience building consumer brands will be a valuable part of that next phase.”
The capital will support consumer sampling, retail activations, local events and targeted marketing to introduce Fathers to new audiences and build demand.
Retail Expansion and Early Philadelphia Success
In five months, Fathers grew from self-distribution in two California counties to eight distributor partners representing 51 counties across California, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Within six weeks of its Philadelphia launch, Fathers added more than 300 retail locations, with strong sell-through and accounts including ACME Albertsons, Costco, ShopRite and Gopuff.
In California, Fathers has added Trader Joe’s and Erewhon to a retail roster that includes Whole Foods, Nugget, Total Wine, BevMo, Costco and Sprouts. The brand now reaches more than 800 retail locations, six months after beginning distribution.
A Proven Team
Fathers was founded by entrepreneurs with experience building and scaling consumer brands. Cloyes co-founded Youth To The People, acquired by L’Oréal after surpassing $50 million in revenue. Conor Begley co-founded Tribe Dynamics, the influencer marketing technology company acquired by CreatorIQ for $70 million.
About Robert Irvine
Best known for Food Network’s Restaurant: Impossible, Irvine is a chef, entrepreneur and television personality with businesses spanning consumer packaged goods, foodservice, hospitality and media. He co-founded FITCRUNCH, the nationally distributed protein snack brand acquired in 2024 by Bain Capital-backed 1440 Foods. His portfolio also includes Robert Irvine Foods.
A British Royal Navy veteran, Irvine founded the Robert Irvine Foundation in 2014 to support service members, veterans, first responders and their families. Fathers and Irvine intend to explore a future cause-marketing collaboration benefiting the Foundation. Specific initiatives would be announced as plans develop.
About Fathers
Fathers is a California-based beer company producing American lagers brewed with organic ingredients and a focus on transparency, quality and taste. Its portfolio includes Fathers Clean American Lager and Fathers Clean American Light Lager, available in glass bottles and on draft. Founded by entrepreneurs with backgrounds in consumer brands, brewing and the military, Fathers is built around a simple belief: Clean Beer Tastes Better. For more information, visit www.fathersbrewing.com.
