Craft soft drinks brand Gunna has collapsed into administration, with crowd investors staring at losses of almost £4m as a result.
The business – Gunna Drinks Ltd – appointed administrators at Moorfields Advisory on 24 January.
Gunna launched its range of craft flavoured lemonades, made using real fruit and no artificial colours or preservatives, in 2016. The “health-conscious” brand was marketed as being “better for you and better for the planet”.
It raised £3.1m across five crowd rounds from 1,400 backers on Republic, which was then known as Seedrs, from 2019 to 2022. And the company also previously secured another £820k from 245 investors on the Crowdcube platform in 2018.
Companies House filings revealed Gunna racked up accumulated total losses of £6.4m, according to abridged accounts for the year to 30 November 2023.
Gunna expanded into the US in 2022, trading as Gunna Craft Soda Inc. However, ongoing struggles pushed the company to develop a new strategy in 2024, but a lack of funding meant it was forced to bring in administrators.
Moorfields are marketing the goodwill and intellectual property assets for sale and request that any interested parties contact the firm.
“Gunna Drinks created a great brand but entered a competitive marketplace,” said Andy Pear, Moorfields partner and joint administrator.
“Non-alcoholic alternatives and craft beer are both popular beverages that we expect to see on the rise, but lack of funding and strategy meant that Gunna struggled to make the brand a success.”
In January 2024, the company behind Gunna – the Sustainable Bottling Co – opened a new aluminium bottling facility near Leicester in 2024 having raised £1m from investors. It was claimed at the time that the 8,000 sq ft facility was the first in the UK and Europe capable of bottling drinks in aluminium, which would have “seismic positive environmental implications” for the soft drinks industry.
It is not clear how the business or the factory is affected by the administration of Gunna Drinks Ltd.
Investors of Gunna on crowdfunding platform Republic reacted angrily to the London Gazette notice confirming the business had been placed in administration, criticising the lack of transparency from the company and fundraising platform.
One shareholder wrote: “If a business goes down the pan no one communicates anything.”
Another said: “I’m becoming very disillusioned with the whole crowdfunding scene – the crowd seem to always be the last to know.”
“Comms have been poor on this one,” added one shareholder.
One investor said: “I thought there was a huge grand plan to turn this into a bottling company and a healthy craft drinks range? What the hell has happened?”
Gunna founder and CEO Melvin Jay left the company in November, according to filings at Companies House. But crowd shareholders were not informed about the move, The Grocer understands.
Tim Niemann, the managing partner at US venture capital firm White Knight Capital Advisors, was appointed as a director on the same day Jay left.
The Grocer has been unable to reach Niemann or anyone remaining at Gunna for comment.
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