Cranes

Idea

Introduction

Founded by twin brothers Ben & Dan.

Cranes is the fastest growing cider company in the UK, producing a range of innovative fruit ciders, which are naturally light. By utilising the fruit’s natural sweetness, they contain 30% fewer calories compared to brand leaders. So, while meeting consumer demands for a healthier alternative, they are still full flavoured. Cranes Ciders come in three delicious flavours: Blueberries & Apples; Cranberries & Limes and Raspberries & Pomegranates.

Our range of fruit ciders have seen huge success within the supermarkets.

We have recently developed Cranes Premium Apple Cider to enable us to secure further listings within pubs, bars and restaurants. Our new premium apple cider is naturally crisp and uses 100% fresh juice staying true to our existing cider range.

We also have our award-winning spirits range which includes a Cranes Cranberry & Blood Orange Liqueur and Cranes Cranberry Gin, both currently available on Ocado.

Intended impact

On discovering how much sugar is in fruit cider, it got us thinking. 34% of cider drinkers have not drunk cider in the last 3 months because it’s too sweet or has too much sugar. This makes Cranes well placed to take market share in a growing fruit cider category worth £1.3 billion.

Cranes reacts to 3 trends:

1. Premiumisation: consumers are moving away from value ciders, with 60% of cider drinkers preferring to drink smaller quantities of a premium cider.

2. 62% also said a reduced sugar cider would appeal.

3. Fruit cider is driving growth in the cider market. Currently fruit cider has a 40% share of the cider market, this is expected to rise to 50% by 2022.

We cannot claim that an alcoholic drink is healthy, but Cranes Cider is a healthier alternative. In moderation alcohol remains a part of how people socialise, and consumers are increasingly looking to choose a drink that is more natural, and has reduced sugar and calories, without compromising on taste. Cranes provides this choice.

Substantial accomplishments to date

· Fastest growing cider company in the UK.

· 100% growth YOY since 2017 (based on unaudited management accounts).

· Beat leading fruit cider brands in a blind taste test.

· Our fruit ciders received 3 national listings in: Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons.

· The entire Cranes range is available on Ocado.

· Cranes Cider received a regional listing with East of England Co-op (82 stores).

· Recently increased distribution by 267% to 3081 distribution points.

· Launching into TKMaxx with our cider gift sets, gin and liqueur.

· 2nd most wished for item in cider on Amazon and 3rd overall best seller in cider.

· Achieved £420,000 funding in our previous crowding funding campaigns, with investment from key industry players including Brothers Drinks Ltd (international cider producer and contract bottler, who are also shareholders in soft drinks company Fever-Tree).

· Won 3 awards for our spirit range including: Gold in the Liqueur Masters and two awards from the International Wine & Spirits Competition.

· Our products have received amazing PR coverage including: Made In Chelsea, Dragons Dens, The Daily Telegraph, The Evening Standard, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Bella, The Grocer, Delicious Magazine, The Independent, Topshop and many more.

Monetisation strategy

We plan to continue high growth through building brand awareness and encouraging trials in the off-trade (supermarkets) and on-trade (pubs, bars and restaurants).

Securing off-trade distribution has been at the forefront of our efforts, as this makes up 64% of cider volume in the UK. But there is a strong interrelationship between the on and off-trade, with sales in the off-trade strengthened by an on-trade presence.

In the off-trade we are planning targeted in-store marketing campaigns to directly increase rate of sale, this in turn will also secure further off-trade distribution.

As part of our growth strategy we will start to focus heavily in the on-trade, investing into resources, retros and marketing material. We will use our new premium apple cider to unlock year-round sales in pubs and bars to support sales of our fruit cider. Increasing our volumes and strategic presence in the right on-trade accounts will help build our brand and aid our off-trade marketing efforts.

Use of proceeds

We are looking to raise a minimum of £75,000 to help us achieve our long-term goal to become one of the top three leading brands in the premium fruit cider market by 2028. We feel that our rapid increase is distribution puts us in a very strong position. However, it means that we need to make a substantial investment into our marketing efforts to ensure these listings are supported. As a company we are very proud in our ability to achieve value for money and be efficient with our spending, this will continue with our extensive marketing plans.

25% Working Capital: Increase batch size to lower cost price by 5%

60% Marketing Investment (2 year plan):

- Brand awareness: Advertising, social media, PR.

- Off-trade support: Shippers, POS, promotions, couponing.

- On-trade support: Marketing materials, retros.

- Events & Sponsorship: Event activitions, festival sponsorship.

15% Resources:

- On-trade account manager.

- On-trade reps.

*Based on unaudited management accounts.