Smith & Sinclair co-founder Melanie Goldsmith

Smith & Sinclair co-founder Melanie Goldsmith

Confectionery innovator Smith & Sinclair has secured a £2m cash injection from a US venture capital fund to drive NPD and international expansion.

The London start-up, which launched the ‘world’s first’ alcoholic cocktail gummies, has received the funding from the Subversive Capital investment fund.

Smith & Sinclair, which is already backed by Richard Branson, is set to launch the ‘UK’s first’ edible fragrance and is stocked by John Lewis and Harvey Nichols.

“This is a transformational deal which will help us inject some much-needed innovation back into the nation’s shopping choices,” commented Melanie Goldsmith, who co-founded the brand with Emile Bernard in 2014.

“Confectionery should be fun for adults too; retail should surprise and delight. The crazy inventiveness of the past has been lost as today’s household brands have become more predictable.

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“We want to bring that spirit back and celebrate the kind of Willy Wonka innovation that Britain was world renowned for in the past.”

Michael Auerbach of Subversive Capital said: “We fell in love with the brand from day one. They hooked us with their unique approach to delivering some truly disruptive products.

“We see Smith & Sinclair as the epitome of British inventiveness and quality and want to support them on expanding this to a global market.

“There’s huge appetite for such unique food innovation and we see great potential in helping them in their expansion into the U.S. and beyond. Smith & Sinclair can help make British confectionery a global success again.”