Final Boss Sour, the gaming-themed better-for-you snack brand built in studio by Science Inc., has closed a $4 million strategic funding round to accelerate its national retail push.
The round includes new investors Evolution VC Partners, The Angel Group, and Mondelez International (NASDAQ: MDLZ) SnackFutures Ventures, alongside returning backers Melitas Ventures and GFR Fund.
The brand will soon be available at Walmart (NYSE: WMT), Kroger (NASDAQ: KR), H-E-B, Wegmans and Hy-Vee, with additional launches at Target (NYSE: TGT) and 7-Eleven planned for this fall.
Final Boss Sour products are made with real dried fruits, including strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, mangoes, pineapples, kiwis, cherries and apricots, each coated with a proprietary sour finish.
The core lineup features four escalating levels of sourness and contains no artificial colors or artificial fruit flavors, positioning the brand firmly in the better-for-you snack segment.
“We are the fastest-growing sour snack brand in the country,” said James Hicks, co-founder and general manager of Final Boss Sour, pointing to strong velocity across early retail tests as proof of consumer demand.
Hicks added that customers have demonstrated clear appetite for a sour snack made with real dried fruit rather than artificial gummy candy, with the new funding set to expand the brand’s retail footprint further.
Final Boss Sour has amassed more than 2 billion organic video views across TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, and has built the largest YouTube subscriber base of any sour candy brand.
The brand has driven that reach through monthly product launches and collaborations with figures including NHL star Trevor Zegras, MLB star Jazz Chisholm Jr., PAC-MAN and G FUEL, turning each release into a social media moment.
“We built the largest YouTube subscriber base of any sour snack brand by giving fans something new to engage with every month,” said Tommy Riggs, co-founder of Final Boss Sour, citing launches like Level 3 Sour Shirley Temple Cherries and PAC-MAN Pineapple Dippers as examples.
“The Final Boss Sour playbook is fundamentally different from how most consumer brands have historically grown,” said Michael Jones, General Partner at Science Inc., crediting the team’s content-first approach for translating online momentum into retail expansion.
“Strategic investors play an important role in helping emerging brands navigate their next stage of growth,” said Priscilla Guevara, General Partner and Head of Investor Relations at Science Inc., noting the new partners bring experience across consumer products, retail and distribution.
Science Inc. is known for building category-defining consumer brands including Dollar Shave Club and Liquid Death, providing Final Boss Sour with a proven operational foundation.
Since launching in October 2023, Final Boss Sour has now raised a total of $12 million to support product innovation, creator partnerships and continued national retail expansion.
