Melbourne Startup COCO HIT Announces New partnerships

In a beverage category dominated by global giants, and crowded with imitation products, a Melbourne-founded startup has quietly built one of the most compelling independent retail stories in Australian FMCG.

COCO HIT, a fun, cocktail inspired and bold natural coconut water infusion brand, has secured more than 650 stockists and dual brand partnerships with two of Australia's most respected independent wellness names, Matcha Maiden and Greenstreat, all within eight months of launching in September 2025.

Photo Credit: COCO HIT

Whilst raising two kids under 3 at each hip, the brand, founded by Melbourne couple Aaron Tsamasiros and Stephanie Lacorcia, achieved this early startup success by deliberately rejecting the conventional path to market. 

Rather than pursuing major chain placement from day one, COCO HIT built its retail foundation through independent grocery, health food, cafe and hospitality channels; earning shelf space on product merit and word-of-mouth momentum, and letting genuine consumer demand do the talking.

COCO HIT is now distributed nationally across six states and territories in leading independent stores such as IGA, APCO, Go Vita, FoodWorks, Market Organics, The Good Grocer, Friendly Grocer, Wholelife Pharmacy & Healthfoods, and Greenstreat; a national footprint that most Australian FMCG brands take years to build.

A brand born from a gap nobody was filling

The origin story is as authentic as the product. Stephanie Lacorcia – a creative entrepreneur working with some of Australia's leading influencers, was pregnant and craving something bold, clean and genuinely refreshing. 

Stephanie Lacorcia, co-founder & creative director, COCO HIT said: "I spent months during pregnancy going through every coconut water and flavoured beverage on the market looking for something I actually wanted to drink. But nothing came close; they were either plain and flat, or had unhealthy ingredients I didn't want.” 

“That frustration became the brief. We spent twelve months sampling and refining before we even went near a retailer, because we knew the product had to be right before anything else mattered. We're doing all of this with two kids under two, working around full time jobs and nap times, but honestly that's part of why we're so driven to make it work. 

“We built COCO HIT because we needed it to exist. Turns out a lot of other people felt the same way."

The timing proved prescient. The Australian coconut water market was valued at approximately AUD $433 million in 2025 and is forecast to reach AUD $1.4 billion by 2034, representing a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 14.3%.

Aaron Tsamasiros, co-founder & operations director, COCO HIT said: "We knew we were onto something unique in the market, and our first distributor could see the vision from the start. When we first reached out, we were told to circle back later as they were heading into the Easter period, one of their busiest times of the year. We stayed persistent, kept the conversation going, and shortly after Easter ended up securing an initial order of 56 pallets with that same distributor.”

“Within the first week in Brisbane alone we'd added 72 accounts. That early momentum told us the product could sell itself if we could just break into the places we know we can be seen. The challenge in this category is always the chicken and egg; you can't get the big retailers without the visibility, and you can't get the visibility without the big retailers. So we flipped it. We built the visibility through independent retail first, and now we're negotiating from a completely different position."

Brand partnerships with wellness brand catering to a new consumer market

With growing credibility in the independent wellness and hospitality space, COCO HIT has since partnered with Matcha Maiden; one of Australia's most recognised functional wellness brands, and Greenstreat; the premium health-focused hospitality group with venues across multiple Australian states.

This is the first co-branded product for both brands and is a direct expression of COCO HIT's ambition to build the category through collaboration rather than competition.

Jackson McGrath, co-founder and CEO, Greenstreat, said: "We're seeing a major shift toward food and beverages that feel cleaner, more functional and better aligned with modern wellness-focused lifestyles. Consumers are becoming far more intentional about what they drink, looking for options that deliver both flavour and functionality without feeling artificial or overly sugary.”

“COCO HIT fits perfectly into that shift. Greenstreat was built from the ground up as an independent Australian family business, and we naturally gravitate toward brands that feel authentic and quality-driven. That founder energy from Steph and Aaron is a big part of why we chose to work with them."

Dylan Nadelman, director, Matcha Maiden, said: “When we first interacted with COCO HIT, straight away there was a clear synergy between our brand and theirs. Both are loud, colourful and sit within this growing space of on-trend functional beverages.”

“What stood out most though was seeing that the business was built by just Stephanie and Aaron; parents who came together to create something from scratch while raising a family. That resonated heavily with us, because Matcha Maiden has always been run on those same family values.”

"Strawberry matcha has already become one of the most popular non-traditional matcha drinks globally. Fast forward now and you're seeing versions of it everywhere, which shows we were ahead of the curve.”

The range 

COCO HIT's range of five SKUs across two formats is 100% natural, vegan, dairy free, gluten free, with no added sugar, no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives.

Flavours currently available include COCO’G; 100% pure coconut water, Lychee Marg, Watermelon Mojito, French Martini, and Strawberry Matcha Maiden.