Aussie Crowdsourcing Campaigns

Three years ago we reported on creative financing options for kombucha companies, listing examples of brands in the UK, Canada, the States, and Australia that raised funds from government grants, kickstarter campaigns, incubator space, and crowdsourcing.

Australian crowdsourcing

It seems that crowdsourcing is very much alive and well Down Under. Sydney-based Nexba is leveraging VentureCrowd, Australia’s leading equity crowdfunding investment platform, in hopes of raining $250,000. They plan to use the funds for:

• Expansion of our core Nexba brand in Australia through non-grocery channels.
• Build of new brands: The Good Brekkie, Remixt and PACE in the Australian market.
• Rollout of Nexba to new distribution in existing international markets, and to new markets.

The overall goal is for Nexba to become an “international powerhouse” propeling “dynamic growth from its robust Australian base to being in over 4000 stores across 16 international territories, driving towards a future of global market leadership.” Their target is $50M in sales by 2027

The term sheet states that the investment opportunity is open to every 18+ Australian resident, and you can invest from just $250. The VentureCrowd FAQ details the various levels of investment available.

Meanwhile, over in Western Australia, Kommunity Brew launched a second round of capital raising through equity crowd funding platform Birchal. This follows a successful raise of more than $500k last year which has helped drive its national expansion and put the gutsy functional beverage business on track to achieve 72 per cent growth in 2024. Their beverages are already available across Australia and the funds are required to launch “new products under development including a sports hydration drink so strengthening our distribution network this year is crucial preparation for our next bold move.” Their goals:

• Establish an East Coast sales team to expand our presence with our existing customers.
• Activate new partnerships and grow our retailer base to 2,000+ retailers.
• Launch a national marketing campaign to cross-sell the Sips Sparkling and Cold Matter brands.
• Invest in R&D activities that unlock opportunities in our existing supply chain.
• Build out our marketing team to supercharge our content and build brand awareness.
• Exhibit at industry-leading trade shows, and take our portfolio to new local and international buyers.

They report that in just two weeks over $1.4 million in investment funds were raised and the average investor contributed $2,855. As of Tuesday May 21 they extended the fundraising “expression of interest period” until May 27th AEST. “The private raise period will open on May 28th, with investments opening to the general public on May 30th.”