Gunna

The brands is stocked in Sainsbury’s, Holland & Barrett, Amazon, Ocado, Bidfood, JD Wetherspoon and Matthew Clark

Craft soft drinks start-up Gunna has smashed a £500,000 crowdfunding target to help fuel strong growth online.

The business, which produces a range five low-sugar drinks, has so far raised almost £560,000 as the campaign continues to overfund. It values Gunna at £5.9m, with 8.6% of equity given away.

Revenues at the company have more than doubled in the past two years, with growth of 23% in 2020 on strong DTC sales during the pandemic.

It plans to put the money to work on a consumer ad campaign to raise awareness of its online shop, as well as investing in NPD and increasing rate of sale in the retail channel.

The brands is already stocked in major retail chains, convenience stores and pubs and restaurants across the UK, including in Holland & Barrett, Amazon, Ocado, Bidfood, JD Wetherspoon and Matthew Clark.

It has also won a new listing for the chiller section in Sainsbury’s.

“The rapid growth of craft soft drinks is being fuelled by the same consumer trends that led to the explosion of craft beers, so the sector represents a great growth opportunity for retailers,” founder and CEO Melvin Jay said.

Gunna plans to launch two new flavours this year and expand further oversea.

This is the third successful crowdfunding campaign launched by the business, following raises of more than £600,000 in 2019 and £850,000 in 2018.