Anno Distillers targets crowdfunding for growth

Anno Distillery has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to support its growth.

Anno Distillers was established in Kent in 2011 as a new British distillery to create high quality spirits using innovative and natural ingredients. The founders, Dr Andy Reason and Dr Norman Lewis, are both PhD Research and Development chemists.

Anno has achieved 45% growth in turnover year-on-year for the past three years, and as such its founders feel a funding round is needed to accelerate future growth.

Dr Norman Lewis, co-founder and director says: “When Andy and I first spoke of setting up a distillery, we never could have imagined it would be as successful as it is today. We wouldn’t be enjoying the success we are without the enthusiasm and support of customers who have discovered, shared and enjoyed our products so it makes perfect sense that we invite them to be a part of growing Anno Distillers.”  

The founders claim that money raised from the investment will go towards:

• making key appointments within their sales team
• increasing their marketing budget, allowing them to exhibit at more consumer shows
• Attending more trade shows and advertising in Distributors magazines
• Appointing a strong PR agent in London to build on the Anno story in national press
•  Conservative international expansion from 2018
• Appointing a financial controller and an operations manager
• Installing a bottling line in 2019 and an additional still in 2020
• Recruiting additional technical staff

Anno Distillers is using Seedrs (www.seedrs.com) as its crowdfunding platform. Investments can be as little as £100 with various levels receiving different investor perks such as product discounts and free tours of the distillery. The overall funding target is £750,000. The campaign will officially end on 4 January 2018 or when the full target is achieved.

29 November 2017 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, news editor