Shaken hires ex-Graze exec as value rises 20%

London-based mail order cocktail brand Shaken has appointed former Graze.com executive Paul Cooke as head of growth, as its reported valuation increases by more than 20%.

Paul Cooke, an ex-Graze.com executive, has joined Shaken as head of growth

Cooke, previously head of customer acquisition and business insight at the noted snack delivery company, is “an acknowledged expert in growing subscription businesses”, said Shaken in a statement.

The announcement comes as the cocktail business prepares to close its second Seedrs crowd-funding investment campaign on 12 January.

This initiative started in November and hit its initial target of £100,000 in eight days. At the time of writing, the total invested stands at £170,000.

The company previously raised more than £118,000 in funding during its first Seedrs campaign, which launched in March 2015.

Between the first and current round of investment, Shaken’s valuation has increased by more than 20%, the statement continues.

“We’ve been delighted by the speed and scale of investment in this round, but we want to bring as many people onboard as possible. The more backers and funding we can acquire, the faster we can achieve our ambitions for growth in 2016. There are huge opportunities, but we need to move quickly,” said Mark Jennings, Shaken CEO.

Established in 2014, Shaken produced boxes of cocktail ingredients and recipes for sale directly to consumers, through high-end retailers or as a monthly subscription by post.