VERSO Capital closes a series seed in Nitro Beverage Inc. The extra capital will allow the New Jersey-based producer of fair trade, nitrogen-infused organic cold brew coffees, to expand its product lines and increase retail capabilities across the US.

The Luxembourg-based boutique merchant banking and financial services firm, VERSO Capital has a history of investing in visionary and disruptive companies. Over the past four years, it has invested over $245 million in tech start-ups ranging from climatech to foodtech and biotech. It led the seed investment rounds resulting in a new capital injection into Nitro Beverage Inc., the creators of NITRO cold brew coffee.

Founded in 1958, VERSO Capital is a boutique merchant banking and global financial services firm based in Luxembourg and operating out of Geneva, Fribourg, Vaduz and Dubai. Led by Julien Machot, it works with clients worldwide and is known for being highly selective in its investments, investing in just three to five companies a year.

The equity financing provided NITRO with the means to continue its expansion. The beverage company was founded by two brothers and two of their friends. It began as a hand-built coffee cart in Asbury Park in 2016, providing drinks that are free from sugar, calories and preservatives.

VERSO has worked with NITRO since early 2019 and helped guide the beverage company through the COVID-19 pandemic and the Manhattan lockdown. The series seed began on the mid 2020 and has now been successfully closed. It will allow Nitro to increase production and launch a new three-SKU line of oat milk lattes in the second quarter of 2021.

Julien Machot, the founder of VERSO, said: "We believe the company will be very appealing to larger groups in the future, such as Pepsico, who are coming into the RTD coffee segment."