“Beer lovers” club BeerBods becomes Crowdcube’s fastest pitch raising £155,000 in 36 hours

Online beer club BeerBods has become the fastest pitch to fund on equity crowdfunding platform Crowdcube, closing £155,000 in three days from over 100 investors including the global head of branding at Innocent Drinks.

Overfunding its original target of £100,000 in return for a share of 23.25% equity, the company’s new backers include Dan Germain of Innocent and Helen Fitzgerald, former vice president at Morgan Stanley.

The round also involved participation from several of the site’s own members.

Launched in September 2012 by Matt Lane, Worcestershire-based BeerBods offers an online subscription service where members pay £36 every quarter to receive a case of 12 different craft beers.

Members are then encouraged to discuss the beers with other subscribers via the site’s community forum in order to “learn about and enjoy each beer together”.

The investment will be used to scale the business, both in the UK and overseas, and will go towards the development of additional products and services.

BeerBods founder, Lane, said:

“The fact that so many of our customers got behind our Crowdcube campaign demonstrates just how special our business and our craft beer community really is. The customer was always at the core of our service, but now they are owners too.”

Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, continued:  “The way BeerBods has engaged with its customers to raise finance, and develop potentially powerful relationships with prominent and influential business leaders through the process, is a great example of how it makes sense for a community-based business to turn to crowdfunding.”

Discussing his reasons for investing, Innocent Drinks’ Germain added:

“I first came across BeerBods as a regular consumer, and have been a subscriber for a while now; I love the idea of getting the best beers in the world sent right to my door. Matt Lane has a genuine love for what he does, and I was impressed by his clear pitch and his ideas for extending the business and brand in the immediate future.”