Latest news with #InnocentDrinks
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Innocent Drinks founders invest in hydration brand Humantra
JamJar Investments, the venture capital firm established by the founders of Innocent Drinks has made a significant investment in hydration brand Humantra. Although the investment amount is undisclosed, Humantra confirmed to Just Drinks that it has raised 'investment at a significant eight figure valuation'. It also confirmed that JamJar was a majority shareholder of Humantra alongside Dubai-based private investor HB Investments. The investment will support Humantra's 'UK retail expansion and global growth ambitions,' the hydration brand said in a statement. The start-up was incubated with HB Investments, the family office of Huda and Mona Kattan, founders of Huda Beauty and Kayali. Launched in UAE in 2022 by British entrepreneur Charlie Wright, Humantra expanded into the UK in 2023 with a range of drink sachets made with electrolytes and antioxidants. In its statement, Humantra said the funding round shortly precedes its nationwide launch in more than 1,200 Boots health and beauty stores across the UK this June. Humantra added that this year, it intends to 'deepen its UK footprint and expand globally, targeting retail, hotels, gyms, and lifestyle-led hospitality spaces'. According to Wright, hydration is 'a universal foundation for how we feel, think, and perform' and 'with this investment, we are doubling down on our mission to make great-tasting, effective electrolytes accessible to all'. Adam Balon, co-founder of JamJar Investments said: 'The product is built for all humans—whether you are working out, working late, or just living life. 'Their success in Dubai shows the strength of their products and community. We cannot wait to help them scale further in the UK and beyond.' Humantra's products are produced by a third-party manufacturer in the US and it operates mainly in the UAE and UK. It also has distribution agreements in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan, and Bahrain, and has just launched via ecommerce in Singapore and Australia. In 2024, JamJar entered the soft drinks sector for the first time by backing the gut health-focused soda company Xoxo, a prebiotic soda start-up from the UK. "Innocent Drinks founders invest in hydration brand Humantra " was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.
Sky News
10-02-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Unilever goes Wild for £230m refillable cosmetics producer
The FTSE-100 consumer goods giant Unilever is closing in on a £230m deal to snap up Wild, a premium producer of refillable personal care products backed by the founders of Innocent Drinks. Sky News has learnt that Unilever has agreed the terms of a transaction to acquire Wild from its founders and early-stage investors. A deal could be announced within weeks, according to industry sources. If confirmed, it would be one of Unilever's most significant acquisitions in the personal care space for some years, and comes as chief executive Hein Schumacher accelerates efforts to revamp its portfolio. The group owns personal care brands such as Dove and Lynx - which is known as Axe in most countries around the world. Unilever is said to have been drawn to the Wild business because of both its premium brand positioning and its commitment to sustainability. Wild, which was founded by Charlie Bowes-Lyon and Freddy Ward, sells refillable natural deodorants, lip balms, bodywashes and handwashes direct to consumers. The sale price of up to £230m is understood to include a sizeable earnout for the founders, but even without that, the deal represents a remarkable triumph for a business founded just six years ago. Mr Ward told The Grocer, a trade magazine, in 2023 that Wild's initial efforts to produce a credible product were unsuccessful. "We learned that we weren't very good at making deodorant but there was demand for the product if we could get it right," he said. "It just didn't really work, was the problem. "The formulation wasn't very good." A revamp of the product, which coincided with the remote shopping explosion triggered by the Covid-19 crisis, paid dividends for the founders. Since then, they have reportedly raised in the region of £10m from external investors including Jamjar Ventures, the investment vehicle of Innocent Drinks' founders, Redbus Ventures and Slingshot Ventures. Its accounts for the year to 31 December 2023 show that sales reached close to £47m, a 77% increase on the year before. It recorded operating profit of £560,000. "2023 represented a watershed moment in Wild's short history as we delivered our first year of profitable growth across the business," the accounts - signed off last July - said. A sale to Unilever comes as the London-listed group contemplates a listing of its vast ice cream division, which includes the Ben & Jerry's brand. The company is being lobbied to demerge in a deal involving the London Stock Exchange, although exchanges in Amsterdam and New York are also under consideration. On Monday afternoon, shares in Unilever were trading at around £47.26, giving it a market capitalisation of close to £116bn.
