Straight & Narrow is to mount a £100k crowdfunding campaign ahead of rolling out a massive range of non-alcoholic spirits.
The campaign, which will kick off in the summer, will see the brand offer up 5% of its equity, valuing the business at £2m.
The brand – which is the brainchild of Weetabix and Fox’s Biscuits veteran Jason Stoneham – will use the funds to back the launch of a 13-strong range of flavoured 0% spirits in the autumn.
They would be sold at “disruptive” prices of £12 to £15 per 70cl bottle, said the brand, with six flavours to launch in September, ahead of Sober October, and the rest to follow in December to cash in on Dry January 2022.
The first six will be: Apørol Italian Aperitivo, Pømms Summer Punch, and four ’Gøn’ drinks in Classic, Rhubarb & Ginger, Cucumber & Mint and Mixed Berry flavours.
Price was “sometimes a barrier to entry” when it came to luring new shoppers to the category, said CEO Stoneham.
“The launch of Gordon’s 0% has proven that if you get the balance right between quality and price, then consumers will engage into this fast-growing category.”
The brand also plans to supply non-alcoholic own-label spirits to retailers and was already in “advanced stages” to do so with major retailers.
Former Iceland joint MD Nigel Broadhurst recently joined Straight & Narrow as a non-executive director.
It comes as sales of low and non-alcoholic drinks are surging in the supermarkets: the category grew 50.7% to £217.1m over the past year [Kantar 52 w/e 21 February 2021].
Straight & Narrow plans to donate a percentage of its profits to charity so shoppers could “feel good inside and out every time they raise a glass” said Stoneham.
William Reed - the publisher of The Grocer - has launched an exhibition exclusively for the low & non-alcoholic drinks sector. For more information visit low2nobev.com.
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