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Dr Will's

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Dr. Will’s is an all-natural condiment company started by real life doctor, Dr. Will.

281%
 - 
Funded 6 Jun 2021
£400,009 target
£1,128,554 from 739 investors
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Business overview

Location Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Social media
Website www.dr-wills.com/
Sectors Food & Beverage Mixed Digital/Non-Digital Mixed B2B/B2C
Company number 09965620
Incorporation date 22 Jan 2016
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Investment summary

Type Equity
Valuation (pre-money) £4M
Equity offered 21.98%
Tax relief

EIS

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Business highlights

  • In over 1,500 distribution points incl. Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado
  • Over 450,000 products sold to date
  • £75k sales in April 2021 | Over £1m sales to date*
  • 5 Great Taste award stars | 4.7 star avg. from over 500 reviews
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Key features

  • Secondary Market
  • Seedrs nominee min. £14.64 +
  • Pay by Bank payments not accepted

Idea

Introduction

Dr. Will’s is an all-natural condiment company started in 2015 by real life doctor, Dr. Will. A real doctor who really loves food.

Did you know there are more than 17 sugar cubes in the market leading bottle of ketchup? Dr. Will heard from parents that they had to add this sugary sauce to get their children to eat veggies and felt there just had to be another way.

Our mission is to move consumers to condiments that are naturally sweetened. With our delicious products we can transform a category dominated by a few names.

Since our 2017 launch, we’ve grown from farm shops & Selfridges food hall, to nationwide availability, with listings on Ocado, Waitrose and Tesco.

We’re making magic happen already - we sold 10k bottles in Tesco in our first two months (and in doing so, donating £10k worth of sauce to food charities up and down the UK), we became a fully certified B-corp and we have a thriving Strava club to get our sauce lovers outdoors.

Substantial accomplishments to date

2017

• We launch our first three products: Tomato Ketchup, Beetroot Ketchup and BBQ Sauce

• Win listings in Ocado, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols

• "All the indulgence of ketchup without any of the bad bits. Dr Will’s has made a top notch ketchup without bad ingredients. Firm favourite with my two kids" - Shortlist

2018

• We launch our mayo range: Classic, Chilli and Avocado Oil Mayo

• Win our first Great Taste awards on our Classic and Chilli Mayo

• We hit 20,000 followers on social media

2019

• We launch our Vegan Mayo

• Launch in Holland & Barrett with our Tomato Ketchup, BBQ Sauce and Vegan Mayo

• The Telegraph call our BBQ Sauce "a grown up condiment to splosh on", "Made without nasties and sweetened with dates"

2020

• As Covid-19 hits, we lose all our on-trade - 40% of our business. A tough start to the year

• Win HUGE listings in Tesco and Waitrose

• Launch our dressings: Vegan Caesar and Miso Tahini, as well as a Sriracha Hot Sauce into Tesco

• Win Great Taste awards on our Tomato Ketchup and Avocado Oil Mayo, taking our GT stars to five

• Get on to the Tesco incubator programme (alumni: Fever Tree, Brewdog, Graze)

• We end the year on a high by becoming a cetified B Corporation

2021

• Range extension from 4 to 7 products in Waitrose (April)

• Range extention from 5 to 7 products in Tesco (June)

• Co-Founder Liam makes Forbes 30 under 30 list for Retail and Ecommerce

Monetisation strategy

Dr. Will’s operate across three key channels: Retail, Foodservice and Export

We have a clear plan to drive revenue:

• Grow brand awareness to drive sales through our key retailers: Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado

• Use Foodservice to get Dr. Will’s on restaurant, pub and cafe tables across the country, driving paid-for trial of our products, which in-turn drives retail sales

• Continue to work with great strategic partners in selected export markets

Use of proceeds

We have worked hard to create great products and win distribution in the UK’s biggest retailers. These foundations are in place and it’s time to scale things up.

• Increase trade marketing spend with key retailers: Tesco, Waitrose and Ocado. Marketing as close as possible to the point of sale, is the most efficient way for us to get more parents to swap out mainstream brands for our healthier alternative

• Increase brand awareness and crucially drive trial through online marketing and sampling. We know that once people try our products, they love them, and become repeat customers

• Working capital to support the growth we are seeing in Tesco and Waitrose

• Growing our e-commerce (DTC) channel

• Building the team: We will make key hires in our marketing team and in operations to drive and support growth

• Investing in packaging and innovation to make our business even greener

*Source: unaudited management accounts

Key Information

Outstanding debt

The company has the following outstanding loans:

1. A Bounce Back loan of £50,000, with 2.5% interest per annum. This is to be repaid in monthly installments starting in June 2021.

2. Director loans of a total of £57,722. These loans are interest-free and are to be repaid from revenue after this investment round.

None of the funds raised will be used to repay these loans.

Founding team

Please note, Co-Founder Dr Will Breakey is a doctor, so works part-time on the business. The other co-founders in the business, Liam and Josh are full-time.

Option pool

The company is intending to create a 15% option pool after this round. These options have been factored into the pre-money valuation based on raising their minimum target of £400,000. If the company exceeds this target, more options will be issued which may dilute investors.

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Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

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Only shareholders can access this page

If you successfully purchase a share lot of this business, you will be granted access.

Buy shares

Investing involves risks, including loss of capital, illiquidity, lack of dividends and dilution, and should be done only as part of a diversified portfolio. Please read the Risk Warnings before investing. Investments should only be made by investors who understand these risks. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future.

This webpage has been approved as a financial promotion by Seedrs Limited ("Seedrs"), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. It is not intended to be a promotion of any individual investment opportunity and is not an offer to the public. The summary information provided about investment opportunities on this webpage is intended solely to demonstrate the types of investments available on the Seedrs platform, and any investment decision should be made on the basis of the full campaign. Full campaigns are available to investors who have become authorised to invest on the Seedrs platform. All investment activities take place within the United Kingdom, and any person resident outside the United Kingdom should ensure that they are not subject to any local regulations before investing.

Seedrs does not make investment recommendations to you. No communications from Seedrs, through this website or any other medium, should be construed as an investment recommendation. Further, nothing on this website shall be considered an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any security to any person in any jurisdiction to whom or in which such offer, solicitation or sale is unlawful. Seedrs does not provide legal, financial or tax advice of any kind. If you have any questions with respect to legal, financial or tax matters relevant to your interactions with Seedrs, you should consult a professional adviser.

Tax Relief (SEIS)

This business is eligible for SEIS relief - providing qualifying investors with income tax relief of 50% of their investment and certain other tax reliefs. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future. Click to learn more.

Tax Relief (EIS)

This business is eligible for EIS relief - providing qualifying investors with income tax relief of 30% of their investment and certain other tax reliefs. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change in future. Click to learn more.

Valuation (pre-money)

Valuation rounded from £4,000,966

This is the fully-diluted pre-money valuation of the business (i.e. before the new investment comes in and including issued options and other equity interests). In contrast, the post-money valuation is based on inclusion of the new investment in the value.

It is calculated as the pre-money valuation plus the amount of new investment. e.g. If Company A is ascribed a pre-money valuation of £1,200,000 by prospective investors investing £300,000, its post-money valuation is £1,500,000.

Pitch type

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  • Equity
  • Convertible
  • Fund
  • Cohort
  • Secondary

Investing in a regular equity campaign is the simplest and most common way to invest in a startup. You decide which business you want to invest in, and if the campaign hits its funding target then you will become one of their shareholders. As the company becomes more valuable, so do your shares; allowing you the opportunity to share in the future success of the business.

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Equity Offered

The equity offered is the percentage of the company’s shares being issued in return for the amount of investment raised.

When the amount raised is less than 100%, the equity offered is based on the target raise. Once the company has raised over 100% it is based on the total raised.

In some scenarios, entrepreneurs may accept additional direct investment after closing their Seedrs campaign. Provided this is within 6 months of the closing and on the same terms, we do not typically offer pre-emption rights on that extra investment (where you have the opportunity to invest again to maintain your percentage shareholding).

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Seedrs nominee

This shows if you are able to choose, when making an investment, that you be represented by, and your shareholding be managed by, the Seedrs nominee.

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Custodian

If you invest in this Campaign, Seedrs will act as Custodian rather than provide our standard nominee service. This is due to the fact that the business is not directly involved in the share sale and Seedrs will not benefit from any rights under a shareholder agreement. As a result, Seedrs will handle administrative tasks as we do normally, but you will not have information or voting rights, updates from the business, preemption on future fundraising, or ongoing support about business trading activity.

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Secondary market

This shows if the business has opted-in or opted-out of allowing its shares to be bought and sold on the secondary market.

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Direct investment

This is an option to invest and hold shares 'directly' in the company (rather than via the Seedrs Nominee). This option is only available to those investing over the threshold amount, which is determined by the fundraising company.

If you choose to hold your shares directly, you will be responsible for any contractual or administrative arrangements with the company you are investing in.

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Payment options

We are not able to accept card payments for investments into this sector. You can pay for your investment by creating a bank transfer, using funds in your investment account or create a Pay by Bank payment. Your investment will only be completed once the funds have reached our account.

Business Involvement

This Campaign offers shares for sale in business that is not directly involved in this Campaign or the sale. As a result, the Campaign and post-investment experience, including investor rights, will differ from a business-led campaign on Seedrs. Most notably, the business will not engage with investors in the discussion forums both during and after the sale or provide any updates to investors.

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Payment options

We are not able to accept Pay by Bank payments for investments into this sector. You can pay for your investment with a card payment, by creating a bank transfer or by using funds in your investment account. Your investment will only be completed once the funds have reached our account.

Drawdowns

This campaign offers the ability to pay for an investment by drawdowns.

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