Award-winning alcohol free beer brand on a mission to champion the new generation of drinking culture.
Business overview
| Location | London, United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Social media | |
| Website | www.freestar.co |
| Sectors | Food & Beverage Mixed Digital/Non-Digital Mixed B2B/B2C |
| Company number | 11737165 |
| Incorporation date | 20 Dec 2018 |
Investment summary
Business highlights
- Over 500,000 beers sold
- Stocked in 400+ stores at Tesco and Sainsbury’s and Ocado
- Almost one third of pub visits are now alcohol free
- IPA indistinguishable from 4.3% beer. Lager 2x World Beer Award
Key features
Idea
Introduction
Freestar is on a mission to champion the new generation of drinking culture by bringing great tasting alcohol free beer to the masses.
With almost one third of pub visits being alcohol free, and the global market forecast to be almost $36bn by 2030, the time is now.
It all started when we, Felix (ex Sipsmith) and Eddy (ex Propercorn) realised we could make alcohol-free beer that tastes just like full-strength beer and in a sustainable way.
We envision a world where every pub has alcohol-free beers on draft, and there isn't a stigma around ‘not drinking’.
Since launch we have
- Won the World Beer Award (twice!)
- Created an IPA indistinguishable from full-strength beer.
- Stocked in Sainsbury's, Tesco and Ocado.
- Became the world's first AF beer to certify as a B Corp.
- Launched a Mentoring Hotline.
- Had our biggest-ever start to a year, with online sales growing by 380% (Jan 23 vs Jan 22).*
To make this vision a reality, we need your support. So, beer lovers, join our crowdfunding today.
*based on unaudited management accounts.
Substantial accomplishments to date
2019
- Quit our jobs on the same day and bootstrap the launch of Freestar
- Have the first pallet delivered to our flats because we didn't have a warehouse
- Had to re-label – by hand – 3,000 wonky labels
- Our first World Beer Award!
2020
- Launch in Ocado and Sainsbury’s for our first Dry January
- First capital raise - £1.1M invested by founders and execs from companies such as Sipsmith, M&S, Crussh and Gleam Futures
- Covid: pivoted the business online and built a webshop in less than a month. At the peak, Amazon alone was selling 1.5 beers a minute
- Launch a mentoring hotline for unemployed youth
- Re-brand - our signature red identity is born
- Became the world's first alcohol free beer to certify as a B Corp!
2021
- Decide to move our production (twice!) to improve consistency and solve quality issues
- Determined to improve the beer even further, we decide to re-make the recipe. Gulp
2022
- Re-make the recipe - trial 3 breweries in 3 different countries. The Belgians knock it out the park!
- Stocked in 300 Tesco stores!
- Win the World Beer Award! (again)
- Launch a limited edition IPA for the Women’s Euros
- We win the Women’s Euros!
- IPA gets listed on Ocado
- We sell our 500,000’th beer!
2023
- Have the biggest-ever start to a year, with our website alone posting 380% growth in Jan ‘23 vs Jan ‘22. Selling 1000 beers a day
- Kick off our first-ever crowdfund to let our community get in on the action and back us
Monetisation strategy
We generate revenue through the sale of beers into retailers, via wholesalers and direct to customers online.
We have an omnichannel approach to build a resilient business and capture growth. The big focus is to get Freestar on tap for the best possible experience of our beer.
Three key channels:
On trade: We have national stockists from Dishoom to Pho to Kricket to Maison Bab and we’ll continue to target multi site hospitality groups with draft listings.
Off trade: The lager is in Tesco, Sainsbury’s and the IPA and Lager is on Ocado. We are targeting increased distribution in all the big retailers for Lager and IPA.
Online: Our online sales were up 380% in January vs Jan 22. We’ll launch a subscription and new pack formats to increase AOV and recruit new consumers.
2022 split
53% Off Trade
37% On Trade
10% Online
Use of proceeds
We’ve got a great product, in a white hot market, with a strong distribution footprint and run by an experienced team. Furthermore, we believe we have the know how and the vision to put our award winning beers on taps up and down the country. What we need now is your investment to support three key areas:
35% - Grow our team: Behind great beer are great people. We will recruit the best sales team to get Freestar on draft in a pub near you! Our plan is to have 100 taps by the end of 2023, and 2,750 by the end of 2027, or 1 tap every 34 square miles in the UK! i.e you’re never more than 30 minutes from a pint of Freestar!
34% - Marketing: Paint the town red. Well, the fields, more accurately – we aim to lock in a strong festival and activation plan to grow awareness and sample our beers up and down the country getting ‘liquid to lips’ and recruiting consumers at the point of sale.
31% - Working Capital: To build our stock holding as we grow.
Key Information
Debt
The company has the following outstanding loans:
- £16,700 Virgin Start-up loan from The Enterprise Fund Limited at an interest rate of 6% per annum. The loan is to be repaid in monthly installments of £386.08 with a final repayment date of 1st January 2025.
- £33,655 Bounce Back loan from Natwest at an interest rate of 2.5% per annum. The loan is to be repaid in monthly installments of £741.75 with a final repayment date of 22nd February 2026.
- €17,920 Scramble loan at an interest rate of 12% per annum. The loan is to be repaid in monthly installments of X with a final repayment date of August 2023.
The funds raised from this investment round will not be used to repay these loans.
Trade Creditors
The company has the following trade creditors:
- £12,055 to Codestorm - website fulfillment house
- £11,785 to Diamondpak - cases manufacturer
- £25,441 to N20 - sampling provider
Commission Agreements
The Company has agreed the following commission arrangements with its advisors and consultants:
If Dom Smales sources celebrity or influencer investment into the Company, he will be entitled to receive a number of shares equal to 10% of that investment.
If Pete Goldsmith sources investment into the Company from any Premier League footballer, he will be entitled to 6% commission on the value of that investment (3% paid in shares, 3% paid in cash), at the same share price as the investment.
If Chris Fung sources any investment into the Company, he will be entitled to 5% commission on the value of that investment (in cash or equity), at the same share price as the investment develops a product that is marketed by the Company, he will receive 1% plus VAT of the Company’s total gross revenue.
Please note that the above may therefore result in future dilution
Investor Perks
Please note that any discounts, rewards and/or offers listed by a company in its campaign are subject to the terms and conditions applied by that company. It is the company’s responsibility to honour such discounts, rewards and/or offers and Seedrs does not take any responsibility for them.
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