After three years of rapid growth, non-alcoholic (NoLO) cocktail brand, Naked Life Non-Alcoholic Spirits, is hoping to raise $3 million in a capital raise to accelerate its plans for international expansion and growth in its new low-sugar pantry range.
Naked Life – which is stocked by Woolworth and Coles – is one of Australia’s fastest growing companies, with revenue increasing from $400,000 to almost $13 million in three years according to founder David Andrew. He says the company – which claims to outsell its nearest competitor by three times – is hoping to raise around $3 million through crowdfunding platform, Birchal, in a bid to increase the drink manufacturer’s reach and scale.
Globally, the NoLO market has increased to a whopping $14.7 billion – as more people look to a healthier, alcohol-free alternative to cocktails and other beverages.
Andrew says he started the business to “overhaul my own life” when looking for an alcohol-free alternative to spirits and cocktails. The former business analyst started experimenting with recipes in his own kitchen in 2016, after becoming frustrated with the soft drink alternatives to alcohol. He went on to develop a cocktail alternative that didn’t have the adverse impacts on health that alcohol did.
“Our customers love Naked Life because the cocktails taste like the real deal. We’ve benchmarked them against practically everything out there in the world and nothing comes close.
“People don’t just drink; they sip a rum, they nurse an espresso martini, or they debate the finer nuances of an Italian red. Naked Life keeps you part of the party when you just don’t feel like alcohol.”
Andrew attributes the company’s growth to having “the right product at the right time”.
“Naked Life was riding Australia’s post-lockdown sobriety wave. Woolworths trialled us with four cocktails in five stores initially. Four weeks later that grew to 50 stores, which quickly grew to 800 stores within six months. We now have 15 products across Coles and Woolworths stores around Australia and have grown from $400,000 to almost $13 million in revenue in just 3 years. We keep pinching ourselves because our little Aussie startup is now outselling brands like Heineken & Gordons!”
Naked Life is already in 300 bars and restaurants, but it would like to be in more. It has signed several multi-year deals to sell Naked Life at major sporting events and live stadium tours, Andrew says. As well as expanding globally, the company is looking to expand its reduced-sugar pantry range, called The No Nasties Project.
Investors who contribute to the crowdfunding will become shareholders of the Naked Life brand, Andrew said.
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