L.A Brewery

Summary

L.A Brewery produces delicious non-alcoholic kombucha made from health boosting teas, fruits & botanicals. Having sold 1m+ bottles since launch, they are now looking to expand their Suffolk microbrewery and to invest in sales, innovation & marketing in the fast growing non-alcoholic drinks market.

• Since 2017 launch L.A has sold 1m bottles & is stocked in 300+ outlets
• New direct-to-consumer online shop's orders +171% from Dec 20 - Jan 21
• UK Low & No drinks category sits at £450m with growth of 58% 2019-2020
• Top team from New Covent Garden Soup, Green & Black’s, Cawston Press

Idea

Louise discovered kombucha 10 years ago & fell in love. This led to experimenting in the kitchen with fermentation using tea, seasonal flowers & fruits. 3 years on, Louise teamed up with food & drink partners William Kendall & Mark Palmer and launched L.A Brewery in 2017 to craft better-tasting non-alcoholic drinks.

Healthy replacements for alcohol are in demand, with 48% of adults under the age of 34 planning to take part in dry Jan 2021. 25% of drinkers consider themselves semi-regular consumers of low & no alcohol. Kombucha provides a craft-brewed sophisticated drink which rivals alcohol & soft drinks but also delivers health benefits.

Our microbrewery has already produced and sold 1m+ drinks and we've achieved listings with Amazon, Selfridges, Leon, Farmdrop, Wholefoods, Planet Organic, Ocado (March 2021) & 300+ independent stockists across the UK. Newly launched online shop saw a record month in Dry Jan 2021 (+171% orders v Dec '20). In the last 6 months, we've featured in Vogue, GQ, Tatler, Hello!, Elle, Glamour, Country & Town House as one of the best non-alc brands & female-led businesses. A feature on ITV’s Love Your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh resulted in £1k+ online sales in 10mins.

We're raising £500k to expand our microbrewery, working to enable a production increase of 4x to meet future demand and expanding awareness & availability of the brand. Invest in L.A.

Team

Louise Avery: Founder, Head of Product Development & Creative Director

Inspired by her Hebridean upbringing, a love for foraging and food & drink, Louise began brewing kombucha & supplying local restaurants before it was commercially available in the U.K. She published her 1st book (Kombucha, 2016)on homebrewing with a focus on using seasonal, local ingredients.

William Kendall: Co-Founder & Chair (part time)

An experienced entrepreneur, early-stage investor & Director of larger businesses. Previously CEO of New Covent Garden Soup Co. & Green & Black’s before leading their trade sales. Currently, he is Chair of Cawston Press and a Director of Farmdrop & Samworth Brothers. William fell in love with Louise's drinks 5 years ago & invested in her so he never ran out.

Mark Palmer: Co-Founder & Director (part time)

Previously Global Marketing Director of Pret A Manger & Green & Black's. Today, Mark is co-founder and Brand Director of Cawston Press, Chair of Union Coffee & non-exec director of Kestrel Foods. Mark worked on the creation of L.A Brewery with Louise and provides hands-on support to management on marketing, sales & innovation.

Tom Stokes: Operations Manager

Former operations, safety & quality mgmt within RAF

Gemma Pryke: Head of Finance (part time)

Chartered accountant, over a decade of audit & industry experience

Vanessa Wise: Marketing Manager

Former Senior Campaign Manager at ITV