Lyre’s, a London-based producer of non-alcoholic spirits, announced that it has secured £20M (approx €23.6M) funding at a valuation of £270M (approx €319M), up from a valuation of £100M earlier this year.
The funding round was led by a new investor, D Squared Capital, along with existing investor Morgan Creek Capital Management (early backers of Alibaba, SpaceX, Lyft, Drizly NinjaVan, and Allbirds). Other early backers increasing positions include DLF Venture, VRD Ventures, and Maropost Ventures.
The £20M (approx €23.6M) capital will enable the company to focus on marketing expenses and hire about 50 new employees in sales and marketing, production, logistics, finance, and e-commerce.
The company will also continue to co-invest with several manufacturing partners to expand production capacity to meet demand across its facilities in the UK, Germany, Australia, and the US.
“Millennials and older Gen Zs are drinking less alcohol than any generation before them, but the mindful drinking movement transcends generations and cultural borders. We’re not only growing our business – we’re expanding the whole category, entering territories like the Middle East and Far East virtually uncontested,” said Mark Livings, Lyre’s co-founder and CEO.
What does Lyre’s solve?
According to No and Low Alcohol Strategic Study 2021, global off-premise sales reached $3.1B (approx €2.7B) across low-alcoholic and non-alcoholic categories, last year. In the UK alone, the no/low alcohol category is expected to reach a value of over $1.5B (approx €1.3B) in 2025.
Lyre’s was founded by two Australians in Britain – Mark Livings and Carl Hartmann – as an independent British company in 2019 to replicate the world’s most popular spirits in a non-alcoholic format, each as close to the original premium volume spirit as possible.
“We’ve all encountered social situations where we would like to enjoy a drink, but for one reason or another, a non-alcoholic option is a good choice,” says the company.
The company provides an alternative to those who don’t wish to imbibe alcohol. Lyre’s says its range of premium non-alcoholic variants contain the same natural essences, extracts, and distillates that match the aroma, taste, and appearance of time-tested classics.
Lyre’s statistics
Currently, Lyre’s portfolio consists of 14 premium non-alcoholic spirits including American Malt, Dry London Spirit, Italian Spritz, Amaretti, Coffee Originale, and more. All products are vegan and packaging is 100 per cent recyclable.
The UK company currently sells in over 60 countries across multiple channels, including direct-to-consumer via its website, as well in leading restaurants, bars, and retailers – including over a dozen of the World’s Top 50 bars, Nobu Restaurants, and Bvlgari and Ritz Carlton hotels – and is available on many airlines
The company employs an international workforce of over 80 people with production in the UK, Australia, the United States, and Germany. It’s headquartered in London, UK, with offices in Sydney, Australia, California and New York, USA, and Shanghai, China.
01
How Gen Z affects B2B social media