Snacking startup AP Brands has slashed its original crowdfunding target after securing national listings under its new brand The British Snack Co.
The crisps, popcorn and pork crackling producer had originally launched a campaign on Crowdcube in August seeking £500k to support a national rollout.
It decided, however, to cancel the Crowdcube raise before hitting its target and relaunch on rival platform Seedrs as The British Snack Co.
“We had done several rounds on Seedrs before and that’s where all our investors were,” said founder and MD Thomas Lock. “They knew us over there, so we decided to move back, and it looks like it paid off given how well the campaign is going.”
Furthermore, the August timing meant the Crowdcube raise started “a little bit slowly”, he added.
The brand has also lowered its ambitions, seeking to raise £200k in exchange for a 3.85% stake – valuing the business at £5m.
The decision followed the signing of new national listings with Costco and Brakes, which would help the business in terms of revenue and cashflow, Lock explained.
“Had we not got as much new business as we have, we wouldn’t have been in this situation,” he added. “Our cashflow position has changed, which means we can lower our target and get diluted less.”
The British Snack Co plans to use the investment to fund “key hires” to expand its team, as well as marketing efforts.
Since launching publicly on Monday (18 November), the campaign has already claimed 94% of its target, raising £188k from 70 investors.
“We have had an incredible response which is really encouraging, and we are pretty confident we will hit our target,” Lock said, adding that the company expected to overfund to “at least £300k”.
“We think we will hit that quite quickly given how the campaign is going.”
AP Brands has previously held three funding rounds on Seedrs, raising a total of £489k from 638 investors – with the funds used to launch and grow its four brands: The British Crisp Co, The British Popcorn Co, Create a Crisp and Awfully Posh.
This latest crowdfunding push, however, would be its last, Lock said, though he did not exclude seeking further investment in the form of private equity or VC funding.
Since launching in 2013, AP Brands has sold over seven million snack bags, with listings in Asda, Tesco and Waitrose, among others.
It is now eyeing a minimum revenue target of £2m this year, up from £1.3m in the year ended December 2018.
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