Momo Kombucha has secured a seven-figure investment to drive expansion plans as the gut health drinks startup aims to hit revenues of £10m by 2026.
The business raised £1m mostly from existing shareholders, which include the likes of Planet Organic founder Renée Elliott and former Innocent Drinks head of finance Jess Coles, and will use the cash to move to a larger factory and expand its capacity.
Founders Lisa and Josh Puddle, a husband-and-wife team, have taken the business from their home kitchen in London to being stocked in almost 1,000 distribution points across the UK, including with Ocado, Gail’s Bakery and Riverford Organic.
A growing awareness of the importance of gut health is driving increased demand for the kombucha brand, with its run rate revenue nearing £2.5m in January and annual sales forecast to hit £3m this year.
“This is our largest fundraise to date and an essential step to support our rapid growth,” said Josh Puddle. “Over the last four years we have on average doubled in size each year and these funds will help support our expansion plans to reach £10m of revenue in 2026.
“We are grateful to our shareholder base for their ongoing support, most of whom we met through them being customers and being fans of our kombucha. The money raised will allow us to invest in the equipment needed to support our growth and improve the efficiency of our production, as well as allowing us to move into much larger premises at New Covent Garden Market.”
Momo brews organic kombucha using natural methods, “a blend of the finest teas” and slow-pressed organic juice. It bottles small batches and leaves the liquid completely unfiltered, which the business claims offer the maximum health impact.
“Over the next three years our ambition is to become the UK’s favourite kombucha and we are well on our way to do that thanks to our homemade production process and dedication to authenticity,” Puddle added.
Sales of kombucha in the UK retail market remain small at £19.3m [NIQ 52 w/e 7 October 2023] compared with booming markets in the US and Australia but are growing rapidly, with value up 31% and volumes by 28%. according to the most recent category report in The Grocer.
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