Seedlip founder Ben Branson is aiming to raise £2m in a funding round for his new business creating the next generation of premium non-alcoholic brands.
Pollen Projects has already secured £1.2m from private investors, including former founders of spirits companies, distributors and Game of Thrones actor Kit Harington. It is now opening the round up to the crowd on the Republic Europe platform.
Funds will be used scale sales, marketing and production for the two brands created so far by the business, Sylva and Seasn.
Pollen Projects will also open a second Sylva distillery and maturation lab in upstate New York and launch a 100ml Seasn format to accelerate global distribution.
“In the decade since I launched Seedlip, the way we socialise and drink has structurally changed,” said Branson, who also founded Pollen Projects with former Seedlip COO Emma Wykes.
“More than 70% of Europeans are cutting back on alcohol and US consumption is at record lows but people still want to get together and still deserve delicious drinks regardless of the abv. We have identified a relevant audience of 120 million adults across the UK and US alone for Sylva and Seasn and this coupled with our highly experienced team and best-in-class global network make for exciting foundations for the next decade.
“Over the past two years we have built a portfolio of award-winning brands and established a network of world-class stockists. Now is the right time to turn the public’s appetite for this movement into a chance to invest in it and join us as we lead the next wave of non-alcoholic innovation.”
Pollen Projects launched Seasn in 2024 and the two-strong range of 0% abv cocktail bitters is now sold in six markets, with two major US distributors.
Sylva claims to be the world’s first distillery and maturation lab creating aged non-alcoholic spirits from grain and wood. Since hitting the market in December, the brand has sold more than 8,000 bottles across two releases, supplying the likes of Selfridges, Berry Bros & Rudd and three-star Michelin restaurants The Fat Duck, The Ledbury and Core.
Branson sold Seedlip to Diageo in 2019.
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