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Alcoholic tea brand gains £1.4m investment

English alcoholic tea brand Noveltea has raised £1.4 million (US$1.8m) in funding to expand globally and develop new products.

Noveltea was founded by Vincent Efferoth (pictured second left) and Lukas Passia

Noveltea was founded in 2016 by Vincent Efferoth and Lukas Passia, who were studying at university in Newcastle at the time. The brand is said to be the first to cold brew and infuse tea with a spirit.

Noveltea raised the £1.4m investment from the North East Venture Fund (NEVF), the UK government’s Future Fund and crowdfunding platform Crowd Cube.

Thea Tebble, investment associate at Mercia Asset Management, which manages the NEVF, said: “Noveltea is a premium beverage in a range of unique blends. Its quality product and ambitious management team is a great foundation for future growth. The business has already achieved impressive traction and Mercia’s support will help it expand into new markets.”

The funding will enable the company to target new markets, expand its product range and create 20 new jobs at the firm’s Newcastle base.

“We’re absolutely delighted to secure this investment and can’t wait to start pushing further on with our ambitious plans,” said Passia, joint managing director of Noveltea. “Our unique drinks are already receiving international acclaim and this funding will allow us to grow and reach many more customers and introduce them to Noveltea.”

The range includes The Tale of Earl Grey, a combination of Earl Grey tea with London Dry gin; The Tale of Moroccan Mint, made with white rum and fresh mint tea; and The Tale of Oolong, made with Scotch whisky and oolong tea from China.

The founders, who are both originally from Germany, took inspiration from their travels to Morocco, China and Britain to create the range.

The Noveltea line is vegan, gluten-free and made without artificial additives. The range also carries an ABV of 11%.

In 2019, Noveltea received investment from German politician Dagmar Wöhrl, who stocks the range across her chain of hotels.

Efferoth and Passia also took their Noveltea venture to BBC show Dragons’ Den in 2018. However, the duo left without any funding after turning down an offer for 30% of their business.

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