Crowdfunded Business of the Year 2015

Start-up name: Berrywhite
Founder: Andrew Jennings
Started in: 2012
Based in: London
Business description: A healthy drinks company with a social goal  

Berrywhite founder Andrew Jennings’ goal is to ‘bring superfruits to the masses’ and by virtue of being named Crowdfunded Business of the Year at this year’s Startups Awards, the company is well on its way to achieving just that.

In April 2014, it successfully gained the approval of the masses – or ‘crowd’ as they’re commonly known – which collectively invested over £378,000 in an oversubscribed Crowdcube round.

The ethical drinks brand’s range of non-carbonated, organic sugar-free drinks that ‘do good, taste good and look good’ was an attractive proposition for over 170 crowd investors, and proved equally appealing to the Startups Awards judges.

The judges were compelled by the business’ ability to attract significant crowdfunding while combining profits with purpose; it donates 10% of its profits to projects that will help educate underprivileged people around the world.

One year on from its successful crowdfunding round and Berrywhite has put its investment to good use. Jennings has scaled the business’ exports arm to 30 countries, has secured stock listings on the shelves of 15 leading retailers including Waitrose and ASDA, and produced more than one million drink units in the last year alone.

Well on its way to making the transition from a niche product to a mainstream drinks range, Berrywhite’s crowdfunding campaign took the top spot ahead of The House Crowd in second place and Cornerstone in third place. All three start-ups showcase the potential for alternative finance over traditional means.