The Naked Collective to raise €2.5m through crowdfunding campaign

Healthy drinks company The Naked Collective is seeking to secure €2.5 million in investment through a crowdfunding campaign as part of an overall €15 million fundraise.

The Co Kildare-based company, which raised €6 million last year, intends to secure a further €5 million in the next few months with half of that sum to come through a campaign on Crowdcube. It will also look to raise another €10 million later in this year to bring total investment in the company to €21 million.

The crowdfunding campaign is due to go live early next month. Among other companies to raise money via the platform are BrewDog, Monzo and Revolut. Irish start-ups that have used Crowdcube meanwhile include Buymie, HouseMyDog, Lightly Technologies and See.Sense.

The Naked Collective has produced a range of healthy drinks under the Mude brand name that are low in sugar, isotonic and contain natural vitamins and minerals. It is also launching a range of non-alcoholic lagers under the So-Beer brand.

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Its drinks are stocked by more than 1,000 outlets here including in Tesco, Spar, Mace, Londis and Circle K. It has also just gone live with Manna, the drone delivery company offering airborne deliveries in Oranmore, Co Galway.

Acosta partnership

Having recently secured listings in Canada and Italy, the Naked Collective earlier this month partnered with US sales and marketing company Acosta as part of a $12 million investment to expand in North America.

The Naked Collective's founders are Niall Phelan and Catherina Butler. Mr Phelan, who co-founded craft brewer Rye River, producers of McGargles beers, was also previously country manager for Molson Coors. Ms Butler, meanwhile, is the former chief financial officer at logistics firm Primeline, and previously worked at United Drug and Lifestyle Sports.

“We saw the crowdfunding approach as not just people investing in our company but also investing in our shared vision, to make the world a healthier, happier place one drink at a time. Who wouldn’t want as many people as possible to be a part of our rollercoaster journey?” said Ms Butler.