U.K.-based seltzer brand Something & Nothing announced today it has closed a $1.8 million (£1.5 million) funding round led by Rianta Capital to support its expansion in the U.S. this year.
What is Something & Nothing?
Founded in 2017 by Olly Dixon, a former creative director for CPG brands, and former Red Bull U.K. account manager Rupert Pugsley, Something & Nothing produces a line of low calorie flavored seltzers made with grape juice and lemon juice with no added sugar.
Available in Cucumber, Yuzu and Hibiscus & Rose flavors, Dixon said the brand aimed to fill white space in the U.K. market with a lightly sweetened product that split the difference between soda and zero calorie sparkling waters. As well, the brand debuted a wine-based Spritz line in England last year, with French Rosé + Hibiscus & Rose and Sauvignon Blanc + Cucumber varieties with 4% ABV per 12 oz. can.
The company made its U.S. debut in summer 2020 in the Los Angeles and New York markets and is sold direct-to-consumer as well as retailers like Erewhon, Gjusta Grocer, Flask & Field, Westside Market, Toto Market, Jaydee’s, Pink Dot and H-Mart. The Spritz line will launch in the U.S. next week in Erewhon and online.
How will the funding support growth?
The new capital is now poised to help Something & Nothing further expand its U.S. presence, with plans to open up North American production by the end of the year
“The quick growth we were seeing in the U.S. in particular and the amount of opportunities [prompted the raise] but last year, we just couldn’t keep up with the orders,” Dixon said. “So we realized we needed to really have a focus on the U.S. for 2022, and put a lot of money, obviously, into stock, but then marketing, building a team in the U.S. and sampling.”
The brand is also expanding into the European market as well, with accounts in Germany and the Netherlands. With an international team, Dixon said Something & Nothing will likely increase its full time team from nine employees currently to 15 this year.
Something & Nothing previously raised around £1.1 million from friends and family and angel investors, and the new round includes funding from Swiss venture capital firm Rianta Capital, which is also receiving a board seat, as well as individuals like Siggi Hilmarsson, founder of Icelandic skyr brand Siggi’s, and Bart Jan Manten, founder of premium olive oil maker Neolea. Dixon noted that in particular Hilmarsson and Jan Manten will play significant advisory roles for the brand as the team hopes to learn from their entrepreneurial experience.
“It’s interesting speaking to [Hilmarsson], who has a kind of European sensibility and has launched a non-American product within the U.S., which is essentially what his experience was,” Dixon said. “We tried to bring in quote unquote ‘smart money’ in this round.”
How has the brand performed in the U.S.?
According to Dixon, the U.S. business got off to a strong start in 2020 when the brand became one of the top selling new beverages in Erewhon, but the company hit a roadblock last year after supply disruptions made it temporarily impossible to ship to the West Coast. Now, as the Los Angeles business has resumed, the U.S. has become the fastest growing market for Something & Nothing, currently representing around 45% of total revenue with expectations to reach 70% by the end of the summer.
With the Spritz launch coming next week, Dixon said Something & Nothing hopes its unique packaging design and better-for-you approach to the RTD alcohol space will help it grow its consumer base and expand its footprint across the country.
“All the feedback [has been] around the unique design of the cans really grabbing people’s attention, and then these global flavors and elevated flavor profiles,” Dixon said. “People are kind of used to seltzers that don’t taste like much in the U.S., and this has got a lot more flavor from the natural ingredients.”