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Cocktail Keg Company gains £1.2m
Belfast-based Cocktail Keg Company (CKC) has secured £1.2 million (US$1.5m) in investment as it eyes overseas markets.
Founded in 2017 by industry professionals Paul ‘Burnszy’ Burns and Anthony ‘Soda’ Farrell, Cocktail Keg Company initially made premium pre-made cocktails for the on-trade, which can be delivered, shaken and poured from the bottle to customers.
The idea was that the cocktails, made with premium local ingredients, can be served to non-trained bar staff from its hub in east Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The company has since expanded to selling through retail and online, where consumers can enjoy the products from home. The range includes a Bramble Espresso Martini, Long Island Ice Tea, Irish Coffee, Old Fashioned and Tommy’s Margarita, among other classic cocktails.
Having now gained £1.2m in funding, led by the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland (IFNI), the brand can enhance its business in the UK and Ireland, while also targeting international markets in Europe and the Middle East.
In Britain, it also recently signed a three-year distribution agreement with Enotria & Coe.
Farrell said: “We have over 20 years’ experience creating cocktail menus in bars across the world, and we formed CKC with the ambition of creating innovative serves that not only taste great but are also as sustainable as we can make them.
“When we started it was almost impossible to get a quality cocktail in a lot of bars, let alone at a big event or airport. We believe we have created a truly unique, premium product and we’re really delighted to have our new investors on board to go on the next phase of the journey with us.”
While £500,000 (US$644,327) of investment came from IFNI, the rest of the funding round was said to include several ‘local private individuals’, such as Trevor Annon, founder of catering and facilities management support services giant Mount Charles.
The deal with the IFNI was led by Clarendon Fund Managers, which manages the equity component of the £70m (US£90m) fund from the British Business Bank.
Along with the use of premium ingredients, CKC also takes an environmental-friendly, local-first approach to its product development, such as with citrus where the need for its customers to import limes and lemons is removed, reducing their carbon footprints.
Meanwhile, no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives are used, and for every bottle sold online, Cocktail Keg Company plants a tree.
The desire is to be carbon neutral by 2025, which the company said it is on course to do.
“We always say that perfecting the art of mixology takes years, huge amounts of skill and a fair bit of theatre,” added Burns. “We’ve done all the hard work and put that in a bottle so all our customers have to do is shake, garnish and serve.
“CKC has already built a great reputation in the drinks trade and this investment will provide a springboard for growing into new markets and letting an even wider range of customers experience our cocktails.”
Filling a gap in the market
Signing off on CKC’s potential for success, Mark Sterritt, British Business Bank director, nations and regions investment funds, said the brand has “has all the ingredients to be a great local success story”.
He continued: “Soda, Burnzsy and the team have created unique, premium products that are clearly filling a gap in the market.
“The success they have had already suggests that this is just the start for CKC. It really is pleasing that the Investment Fund for Northern Ireland has been able to support them at this important stage in their development.”
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