Craft Clubs have secured an investment of £75,000 from food and drink entrepreneur Sarah Willingham as part of BBC TV show Dragons’ Den.
The company which is behind subscription drinks service Craft Gin Club and Bubble Club saw co-founders Jon Hulme and John Burke receive the investment in return for 12.5% stake in their start-up, with an advisory role taken up by Willingham within the company as it seeks to expand and grow over the next twelve months.
Co-founder Hulme said: “We entered the Dragons’ Den process really excited about the prospect of working with Sarah. She and her team have an incredible amount of experience in the drinks space, and we’re hoping that Craft Clubs can really benefit from their combined wisdom. This is a great outcome for us, and hopefully for Sarah and her team as well.”
Burke added: “We’re really looking forward to working closely with Sarah. We went onto the show looking for an investment of time as well as money, so to find a backer with Sarah’s level of success – alongside a real willingness to be involved and help us guide our young company – is a real win. With her help, we’re looking forward to launching into new categories making the Craft Clubs experience even better for our members.”
Willingham, together with her business partners will take an active role in guiding the subscription service, which already sends more than 4,000 bottles of gin and sparkling wine each month to members across the UK.
“When you’re sitting there in the Den you genuinely have no idea who will come through the lift door next, but as soon as I heard Craft Clubs’ pitch I knew it was a business I wanted to be a part of,” Willingham stated: “John and Jon are two great entrepreneurs with a fantastic idea backed up by a really solid and scalable business plan. Not only do we all share a passion for business, we also get pretty excited about a great gin and tonic, which I’m sure will make board meetings fun.”
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024