NAKED LIFE EASILY PULLS OFF $3 MILLION RAISE ON BIRCHAL

CLIENT: NAKED LIFE

OUTLET: NEWS CORP

David Andrew has just raised $3m in a crowd-funding campaign for his wildly successful non-alcoholic cocktail brand which started as an experiment in his kitchen.

His Naked Life Non-Alcoholic Spirits has notched up one of the biggest equity crowd-funding raises this year, with 935 investors pledging just shy of $3m with the offer closing on Thursday night.

Along the way it broke the previous record for the largest food and beverage equity crowd-funding raise, which was set by Old Young’s distillery which reached $2.7m earlier this year.

Both were on the Birchal crowd-funding platform.

Over the past three year’s Naked Life has cranked up its revenue from $400,000 a year to almost $13m, ranking it as the country’s top selling non-alcoholic cocktail brand.

SYDNEY WOMAN RECIEVES EXTRA $25 MILLION TO FUND FOOD COMPANY TAKING THE PET WORLD BY STORM

CLIENT: LYKA

OUTLET: 9 HONEY - PETS

A young Sydney woman is changing the processed pet food industry, one nutritional food bowl at a time. 

Anna Podolsky, 30, is the founder of the mega successful pet wellness start-up Lyka that has just received an additional $25 million in funding.

The Aussie business is at the forefront of the fresh food movement for pets.

FORMER CANVA DIRECTOR BACKS LOCAL HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTS BIZ

CLIENT: PLEASANT STATE

OUTLET: AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

Lee Torrens is cleaning up. Street Talk understands the former Canva Marketplace director and current company adviser is absorbing shares in household cleaning product startup Pleasant State.

 Pleasant State is a subscription-based eco-friendly household cleaning products business, co-founded by Queenslanders Sian Murray and Ami Bateman. The pair say they’re making more than $1.4 million a year in revenue and claim their products can be found in over 20,000 homes.

THE NOT-SO-SECRET LIFE OF PETS

CLIENT: LYKA

OUTLET: AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

It’s a dog-eat-dog world in retail with a slew of companies handing down profit warnings as consumers feel the pressure, grappling with the higher cost of living. There is one outlier: pet care in Australia is doing robust business, but can this last?

Australians love their pooches (and cats, and other furry and feathered friends) – pet owners spend at least $16 billion annually to keep their extended family fed, in top health, insured, groomed and accessorised.

WHY BOOZE-FREE COCKTAIL CAN GIVE ‘SAME BUZZ’ AS GLASS OF WINE

CLIENT: SAINTLY

OUTLET: PERTH NOW

The bubbling non-alcoholic drinks market is set to be left shaken and stirred by a new competitor that claims their drinks will leave revellers feeling “buzzed” similar to having a first glass of wine.

Kieron Barton and his former bartender brother teamed up with an American ethnobotanist to introduce nootropics in their faux cocktails to stimulate the brain.

They say their range Noot successfully replicates a non-alcoholic Negroni and Ginger Mule but without the booze.

SCHOOLS LUNCHBOX STARTUP TURNS TO CROWDFUNDING

CLIENT: LILLY’S LITTLE LUNCHBOX

OUTLET: AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW

School lunchbox delivery start-up Lilly’s Little Lunchbox has hit the funding trail, seeking to take a larger bite of the $1.5 billion of the pre-prepared meals industry.

The company, founded by Brisbane dietitian Cara Aprile, delivers pre-prepared lunchboxes to parents and is talking up a 600 per cent month-on-month sales increase (after New South Wales distribution came online in April).

DIETITIAN STARTS HOME DELIVERY LUNCH BOX SERVICE FOR KIDS

CLIENT: LILLY’S LITTLE LUNCHBOX

OUTLET: NEWS.COM.AU

 A dietitian was waking up early every day in order to prepare nutritional meals her daughter would love when she had a light bulb moment.

Cara Aprile, who has a background in dietetics, set her alarm for 5.30am every morning to prepare her daughter’s school lunches.

“I’m obviously very pedantic about what goes into her lunch boxes given that I am a dietitian,” Ms Aprile told news.com.au.

NEW WAVE OF AUSTRALIAN STARTUPS SEEKS EQUITY CROWDFUNDING SUCCESS

CLIENT: PLEASANT STATE

OUTLET: SMART COMPANY

A spate of growing Australian startups has turned to equity crowdfunding to build businesses and seize new opportunities, as founders seek backing from existing customers over outside investors.


Eco-friendly cleaning product brand Pleasant State is among the latest crop of startups to seek funding through Birchal, after having initially bootstrapped its enterprise through an Indiegogo campaign.


The award-winning company is seeking expressions of interest to help fund its next stage of growth, as it seeks new domestic retail partnerships and expansion into global markets.

YOU CAN NOW BUY NON-ALCOHOLIC DRINKS THAT STILL MAKE YOU TIPSY

CLIENT: SAINTLY

OUTLET: BODY + SOUL

A non-alcoholic drink that gives people a "cognitive buzz"? We bet you're wondering what the hell we’re talking about, or whether it's even possible to get tipsy off alcoholic-free cocktails. 

Trust us, we felt the same. But then we got wind of Noot, a new 0% beverage packed with herbal extracts, or nootropics, that can help boost concentration and memory. And according to Noot's founders, it's light enough to ease drinkers into a relaxed state, while also energising the mind.