Beverage industry disruptor Drinkly has launched a £250,000 funding round to support its growth across the UK.
The business – which is backed by BrewDog founder James Watt and Skyscanner CCO Stuart Middleton – unveiled the fundraiser on Seedrs, where investors can spend £10 or more on equity in the firm. Drinkly, which promises to deliver chilled drinks to your home within an hour, plans to move into 150 locations by December 2020.
Founder and CEO John Robertson said: “The UK drinks market is huge – it’s forecast to be worth £55.5 billion by 2022 with the e-commerce segment forecast to be worth £19.6 billion, growing 16% year on year. We have a trusted, tried and tested platform, the team and the tech leaving us well positioned to capitalise on this opportunity and scale up quickly. We plan to become the market leader in drinks-on-demand delivery in the UK.”
Drinkly launched in 2016 and has delivered over 14,000 orders to customers in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London, adding over £110,000 in revenue this year to its first retail partner, the online wine retailer Vino. It also has partnerships with brands including Heineken, Asahi and Innis & Gunn. The firm recently hired business development manager Shabaz Ali. He has signed up nearly 40 independent retailers in Edinburgh, Glasgow and London.
Watt said: “I backed Drinkly because they are doing things differently, using technology to innovate and putting the customer at the forefront of everything they do. Anything that brings the customer closer to fresher BrewDog the better.”
