Supply chain players are determined to enter the market and create a high-end coconut water brand. The "IMCOCO" Group has completed a hundred-million-yuan Pre-A round of financing | First report on financing

Author | Zhong Yixuan

36Kr learned that the Thai "IMCOCO" Group, which is engaged in the entire coconut water industry chain business, recently announced the completion of a hundred-million-yuan-level Pre-A round of financing. This round of financing was led by Insignia Ventures Partners, with Tiantu Capital participating. The funds obtained will be invested in key areas such as the expansion of the production capacity of the Thai factory, the globalization of the ONLIFE private brand, and the establishment of the China headquarters.

IMCOCO was founded in 2023, with its headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand. Its business covers four major sectors: the cultivation of aromatic coconuts, cross-border trade of coconut fruits, R & D and production of coconut water raw materials, and the processing of coconut water beverages. Currently, it owns the only ten-thousand-ton coconut water production base in Thailand and the world's only standardized, large-scale, and matrix-style supply system for the entire industrial chain of aromatic coconuts.

Although the coconut water category started relatively late in China, its market size has grown at an astonishing rate in recent years. According to a report by CIC, from 2019 to 2024, the global coconut water beverage industry grew significantly, with the market size increasing from $2.517 billion to $4.989 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 14.7%. The market size of coconut water beverages in the Greater China market increased from $102 million to $1.093 billion, a compound annual growth rate of 60.8%. Among them, the market size of the Chinese mainland increased from $49.7 million in 2019 to $1.018 billion in 2024, a compound annual growth rate of 82.9%.

Thanks to its simple ingredients, health benefits, and great taste, coconut water has been widely welcomed by Chinese consumers in recent years. However, this also means that the production process of coconut water is relatively simple. For the industry, the raw material, coconuts, has become the key to determining the final taste.

Currently, coconuts can be classified into sweet water coconuts and aromatic coconuts. The former is the mainstream variety globally, commonly known as old coconut water, and is widely planted in Southeast Asia and Brazil, with an annual global output of about 30 billion. Aromatic coconuts, which can be directly exported as fruits, have a better direct-drinking taste compared to the former. They are native to and only produced in Thailand, with an annual output of about 1.2 billion, accounting for only 2% of the total coconut output. They are an agricultural crop variety protected by the Thai government and an important raw material for high-end coconut water.

However, observing the existing leading coconut water companies, most of them adopt a light-asset operation model. That is, the coconut raw materials, transportation, and even packaging are outsourced to others. The companies themselves form a supply chain barrier by signing long-term exclusive supply contracts with purchasers. For example, Vita Coco, the coconut water brand with the highest market share in the United States, did not build any coconut water-related factories before going public, but its supply chain network covers various tropical countries. Another example is if Coconut Water, which is seeking an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this year. Its parent company, IFBH Limited, stated in its prospectus that if Coconut Water relies on third-party external suppliers for both contract manufacturing and logistics transportation, and the distribution of its top five customers accounts for more than 97% of its business.

This also means that whoever owns the most core raw material production areas has the right to speak.

Weng Xiangjian, the co-founder of IMCOCO, told 36Kr that currently, IMCOCO has achieved a full industrial chain layout from coconut plantations, contract manufacturing factories to retail operations. "We are the first company to complete the entire supply chain layout of coconut water from the fields to the counters, and we also have the only ten-thousand-ton coconut water production base established in Thailand by a Chinese company."

In terms of the origin, IMCOCO directly leases and manages coconut plantations in Thailand. It has leased 260 rai of experimental land, and after the successful experiment, it will lease at least 10,000 rai of orchards. In the future, it will achieve 20% - 30% self-supply of coconuts. In addition, IMCOCO also has the raw material advantage of the important production area of aromatic coconuts in Damnoen Saduak, Thailand, and the upstream integrated supply chain capabilities built around the aromatic coconut industry. Currently, it has captured 10% of the fresh aromatic coconut market share in the Chinese market.

Moreover, IMCOCO has established technical and equipment cooperation with more than 34 coconut factories in Thailand. It has long-term orders for easy-open fresh coconuts for Dole, Jiapeng, and Jiawo, etc. Currently, its stable shipment volume is 500 million Thai baht (equivalent to 100 million RMB).

In terms of contract manufacturing, IMCOCO builds its own beverage factories and coconut water raw material factories to produce customized products for retailers. Currently, it stably supplies raw coconut water to Sam's Club, Wahaha, Zhou Hei Ya, Gujing Health, and even Air China. For example, at the beginning of 2025, IMCOCO cooperated with Zhou Hei Ya to jointly launch the natural coconut water brand "Yaya Coconut". Its first major product, freshly extracted powdered coconut water, uses Thai aromatic coconuts as raw materials and is currently available in more than 3,000 offline stores of Zhou Hei Ya and on e-commerce platforms.

Weng Xiangjian told 36Kr that after the financing, IMCOCO's production capacity target is at least four production lines, "which is equivalent to being able to produce about 600 million bottles of 300ml coconut water per year."

The signing ceremony of the strategic cooperation between Zhou Hei Ya and the Thai IMCOCO Group

Downstream, IMCOCO has also incubated its own brands such as Cool Coconut, Light Coconut Talk, and Little Light Coconut in China in recent years, with a mainly mid-range pricing.

Weng Xiangjian believes that the coconut water segment in China has been booming since 2023, and the market size has multiplied. The most important thing IMCOCO has done is to layout the supply chain overseas in advance, creating a first-mover advantage. "The threshold for laying out the supply chain overseas is actually very high. We overcame many difficulties at that time, including raw material sources, factory production cycles, local regulations, overseas labor relations, and even cultural differences. The difficulties encountered in establishing a multinational company are unimaginable."

In addition, apart from the above-mentioned private brands, 36Kr learned that IMCOCO will launch the packaged coconut water brand ONLIFE in 2025. Weng Xiangjian told 36Kr that in terms of product positioning, ONLIFE targets the high-end market, only producing pure imported Thai coconut water. In the future, it will prioritize the distribution in domestic high-end supermarkets. Moreover, different from the current mainstream packaged coconut water with a long shelf life of 9 months, ONLIFE will be a short-shelf-life product of 45 days, retaining the original taste of coconut water as much as possible.

As of today, the most intense price competition among Chinese coconut water brands is in the mid-range. According to data from Mashangying, the average price of coconut water has been declining in the past two years, dropping from an average price of 1.91 yuan per 100 ml in the first quarter of 2023 to 1.46 yuan in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease of 23.5%. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see 1L of coconut water sold for 9.9 yuan. ONLIFE's high-end positioning aims to avoid competition with mid-range contract manufacturing customers and to complement its high-end product line, leveraging the advantage of the aromatic coconut origin to improve IMCOCO's overall ecological layout.

Moreover, Weng Xiangjian also told 36Kr that ONLIFE currently focuses on the Chinese market but will soon expand overseas by the end of this year. It will prioritize Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia and then gradually enter the mature coconut water market in the United States.

Looking at the coconut water market, the coconut water industry in China started late but has great growth potential. Although the market share of coconut water brands represented by if is currently highly concentrated, with the continuous entry of new players such as beverage companies and even private brands of new retail supermarkets in recent years, the market pattern is not yet stable, and the ceiling is still far away. In the global market, according to data from CIC, the coconut water beverage market is expected to grow from $5 billion in 2024 to $8.5 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate of 11.1%. In contrast, the global ready-to-drink soft drink market is expected to reach a market size of $1,519.4 billion in 2029. The overall scale of the coconut water industry accounts for a relatively small proportion. With the trend of healthy living and the increasing acceptance of plant-based products, the coconut water category will have more growth opportunities.

In addition, regarding the founding team, co-founder Weng Xiangjian once worked at Alibaba and Tencent. After leaving in 2016, he joined the "AI + education" company Liulishuo and took it public on the New York Stock Exchange with the founding team. Currently, he is continuously starting businesses overseas. Another co-founder, Yu Tao, was a Thai coconut trader and was an upstream supplier to companies such as Dole and Jiapeng before starting the business.

"One day, coconuts will become a universal ingredient." Weng Xiangjian said. Whether it is the fresh fruit, soft drink, ready-to-drink market, or freeze-dried snacks, the humble coconut still has a vast market in the future.

IMCOCO's Thai factory