Akt has secured £2.3m in fresh capital ahead of a planned bigger raise to support expansion into the US.
The plastic-free DTC deodorant brand’s existing backer Felix Capital invested the majority of the total, with more than £400k contributed by crowdfunding participants.
The raise will bridge the gap between Akt’s $7m (£5.3m) Series A round and a future Series B where it hopes to bring in at least £5m in venture capital investment.
Akt has set its sights on expansion in the US, where it launched into beauty chain Sephora, as well as through DTC channels. The brand is listed in the UK in Space NK.
In its 2025 financial year, the company’s turnover more than doubled to £13.7m, though its EBITDA loss also deepened, swelling from £2.2m to £4.7m.
It has budgeted to reach £25.6m of revenues and £1.7m in EBITDA for 2027.
CEO Darryl Adie told investors, on crowdfunding site Republic, the company was making progress on profitability, with acquisition costs falling from £29 to £10 per customer over the last year.
“We are now at first order profitability in both [the UK and US], with reduced investment in paid media,” he said.
He attributed much of that fall to a “significant increase in US organic awareness”, as word of mouth spread among consumers. The US business currently accounts for 45% of the company’s new customers.
Akt is also planning to grow sales of its body mist products, which currently account for about 10% of sales to deodorant’s 90%, and are significantly more profitable.
The company has drawn down half of a £7m venture debt facility, though Adie said the company did not need any additional debt or equity to meet the service costs of the debt.
“We are not considering drawing down the further £3.5m of the venture debt facility without closing the Series B,” Adie explained.
“Even then we are unlikely to need this. Management feels this would be excess capital and/or over-leveraging, unless we expand more quickly than expected into retail – most likely Sephora – and raise a larger Series B than currently planned.”
Akt was founded by Ed Currie and Andy Coxon in 2020, while the pair were working as performers in London’s West End theatre district.
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