RTD cocktail startup Whitebox has beaten a £450k crowdfunding target as it aims to ramp up NPD and grow distribution in the UK and overseas.
The brand, which produces a range of single-serve canned cocktails, is currently overfunding after raising almost £550k from 285 investors on the Seedrs platform, with the campaign set to close next week.
Co-founded by a team of drinks industry professionals from award-winning cocktail bars, Whitebox’s portfolio includes ready-to-drink Negroni, Martini, Old Fashioned, Cosmo and Margarita.
It plans to use funds from the raise to expand the range to include Espresso Martini and Mojito, as well as boosting production with a new canning line to increase capacity to 20,000 cans per day to meet growing demand.
In 2022, Whitebox grew UK distribution from 60 to more than 700 independent outlets and launched with Selfridges.
“The investment will enable us to increase distribution in the UK and export markets,” said CEO and co-founder Ben Iravani.
“This will allow us to support sales in the US, which have already grown 400% in the last six months, and take a substantial step forward towards achieving our ambition to become the category leader of classic ready-to-serve cocktails.”
Whitebox is already exporting to Denmark, Netherlands, France and Ireland.
“We have huge ambitions and look forward to continuing our growth journey with our new investors,” Iravani added.
Revenues in the brand’s first full year trading amounted to almost £800k, with the current run rate at £1.1m based on past six months to the end of May.
Co-founder Alex Lawrence said: “People think nothing of seeking out the best cocktails at the world’s top bars, yet they often settle for bad replicas at home, so we launched Whitebox to share the joy of classic cocktails and enable our customers to consistently enjoy a world-class cocktail wherever they are.
“We’re already one of the UK’s fastest-growing independent cocktail brands and with cocktails forecasted to spur the most growth in RTDs globally, we can’t wait to take our investors on our exciting journey to become the category leader of classic ready-to-serve cocktails.”
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