The Clean Liquor Co. secures £7m in funding

The Clean Liquor Co., a UK producer of low-alcohol spirits, has raised £7 million in funding.

The private raise, which has seen Clean Co. divest a 20% stake in its business, was backed by both venture capital funds and private individuals. Investors included Ursula Burns, who was the first African American woman to serve as CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and Simba Sleep founder James Cox.

Founded by reality TV star Spencer Matthews, Clean Co. uses traditional distilling methods to create low-alcohol spirits.

The brand has just released its first ready-to-drink, canned cocktail range, featuring 0.5% ABV twists on classic serves.

CleanGin & Tonic offers a ‘crisp botanical blend’ of juniper, grapefruit, cardamom, mint, ginger and cinnamon.

Meanwhile, CleanRum & Cola is made using traditional Jamaican rum techniques and is said to deliver undertones of caramel and cayenne pepper, paired with ‘premium cola’.

The London-headquartered company also says that it plans to release a vodka later this year.

According to Clean Co., the capital raised in its latest financing push will support the brand’s international expansion, including plans to launch in the US in 2021. The new funds will also allow for ‘significant’ marketing investment in the UK to increase brand awareness.

David Folkman, managing director at Clean Co., said: “Our vision is to be the world’s favourite low-alcohol brand. We want more drinkers to be aware of the choices they have when it comes to drinking high- or low-strength alcohol.

“We believe we will be the leading global brand in this space, offering authentic replacements to high-strength alcohol, without compromising on taste or social experience. Our concept is absolutely in line with market trends as people look to change their drinking habits and as conscious consumers consider their options, we’ve seen traffic to the Clean Co. website increase by 185% since lockdown.”

The company’s latest funding success follows a $2 million seed funding round led by investment firm Lightspeed Venture Partners earlier this year.