Irish bevtech start-up GoodBrew is successfully bucking the trend in the current slow FMCG investment environment. The maker of functional cold brew drinks has taken an unconventional approach to their current funding round; turning to social media platform TikTok to attract a younger demographic of investors to its Crowdcube campaign available here.
The Enterprise Ireland High Potential Start-Up has already exceeded 50% of its fundraising target before the round even goes public on Crowdcube. Dee Schroeder, CEO of GoodBrew, says their target consumer is aged between 18 and 25, so using Gen Z’s favourite platform as a focal point of their fundraising campaign made sense. Their video seeking investment has garnered over 140,000 views to date.
@lovegoodbrew ✨Here’s your chance to join the GoodBrew crew! ✨ 📈 Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you are unlikely to be protected if something goes wrong.Take 2 mins to learn more: https://www.crowdcube.com/explore/risk-warning ✅ #irish #UK #fundraising #startup #coffee #business #investment ♬ original sound – lovegoodbrew
“Gen Z makes up about 20% of the population. They’re really smart and have disposable income but are largely ignored by traditional investment platforms so we meet them where they are; online. While we also have more traditional, big-ticket investors on board, it’s really important to us as a brand to build a strong community and stay connected to the people who buy our drinks. Reaching investors via TikTok is the perfect way for GoodBrew fans to own a piece of the action,” says Schroeder.
GoodBrew makes flavoured cold brew coffee drinks fortified with its GoodGut(™) formula, which contains essential vitamins and gut-friendly fibre. The business has big ambitions to disrupt the £20b RTD cold caffeine market currently dominated by a few large players including Starbucks and Coca-Cola owned Costa.
The business has rolled out an impressive number of listings with large retailers across Ireland this year, including Tesco, Centra, SuperValu and Dunnes Stores and revenue was up 250% year-over-year in the first half of 2024. The brand just made its first inroads into the UK market via a successful launch on Amazon UK. Industry stakeholders have taken notice of the scrappy newcomer too. GoodBrew has won two Great Taste awards, Best Functional Drink at the World Coffee Innovation Awards and is nominated in four categories in the upcoming World Beverage Innovation Awards.
GoodBrew’s founders have largely bootstrapped the business to date with support from Enterprise Ireland and founding investor Frank Gleeson, former head of Aramark Europe.
“I’m thrilled to be part of an exciting journey for Goodbrew. Founders Jeff and Dee have developed an amazing new range of coffee based products. I’m so impressed with their entrepreneurial spirit and drive to give customers a healthy cold coffee alternative which is exactly on trend with consumers,” says Gleeson.
GoodBrew’s founders say now is the right time for the business to raise to fuel accelerated growth. GoodBrew is using crowdfunding platform Crowdcube to host the public phase of its funding campaign. Those interested can sign up for access here.