Mela Water • Rapid expansion from startup to thriving beverage business
Mela Was Looking for a Financial Partner in Growth
Mela Watermelon Water, founded in 2019, rapidly expanded from a startup to a thriving business in the beverage industry.
Starting with a vision inspired by Southeast Asian juice trends, the concept was ultimately imported to the United States. Later, Dominic Purpura, founder of this iteration of Mela Water, came across the business in San Diego. After seeing its potential, Dominic purchased the rights to the distribution relationships, recipes, and copacker agreements and Mela was born in September 2021.
Building the finance function from the ground up
Mela Watermelon Water initially operated without dedicated finance or accounting support: the founder prioritized sales and marketing efforts. Later, a team member with a finance background joined to oversee financial management.
The absence of a robust accounting system and controls posed challenges in effectively managing financial operations and scaling the business. In search of outsourced accounting services, Mela was referred to Propeller because of our expertise in the CPG sector.
Propeller's solutions
The onboarding process with Propeller was critical. Mela transitioned from QuickBooks to a more robust platform, which required significant clean-up and implementation. Propeller CFO Dan Sorensen and his team helped Mela navigate this process efficiently, addressing discrepancies and optimizing their systems for better financial management and reporting.
Mela’s current CFO already had some financial background, but lacked expertise in CPG and wanted a partner to bounce ideas off and provide insights into best practices within the industry. Propeller’s fractional CFO services perfectly complemented his skills, offering strategic guidance, reporting functionality, and a reliable sounding board for financial decisions. Since then, Propeller has been an ongoing partner with Mela as they navigate rapid growth.
Results with Propeller
Hitting milestones for growth
17
employees (up from 2)
$5.5M
revenue (up from $1.4)
$20M
projected revenue
6,500
store distribution
More client stories
Stores
2,300+
Funding
$47.5M
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Mela Water • Rapid expansion from startup to thriving beverage business
Mela Was Looking for a Financial Partner in Growth
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1,500+
Clients served
18+
Years of experience
26
Unicorns partnered with
$100B+
Enterprise value created
$29B
Raised by clients
230+
Exits
1,500+
Clients served
18+
Years of experience
26
Unicorns partnered with
$100B+
Enterprise value created
$29B
Raised by clients
230+
Exits
