Less than two years after securing £1.3 million through its Seedrs funding round, Independent wine merchant and wine bar concept, Humble Grape, returned to the equity crowdfunding platform and has already secured its initial £400,000 funding target. The initiative is now nearing £550,000 thanks to more than 175 investors.
As previously reported, Humble Grape was founded in 2014, reported it has grown quickly and now employs more than 35 staff. The company reported that after the success of its first two sites Humble Grape Battersea (2015) and Humble Grape Fleet Street (2016), it has two further sites opening this year, both of which are already secured and fully funded. The company imports over 400 wines from 11 different countries.
“We import over 300 artisan wines from 12 countries, and offer these direct to customers in our wine bars/shops and online. The wines we sell are handcrafted, biodynamic, organic or sustainably produced. We import directly from the vineyard, so avoid markups for agents and distributors.”
Humble Grape also revealed it plans to launch a large flagship site in Canary Wharf in Q2 2019 and plan to launch a further 1-2 each year thereafter. Speaking about where the funds from the latest Seedrs round will go towards, the Humble Grape team added:
“We will use the funds to accelerate our growth. We consider that the timing is perfect for us to create optimal growth in this sector of the industry. We will use the funds to open our fifth site. Working with an industry consultant we already have a clear plan to significantly enhance in-bar retail sales, using enticing visual merchandising displays and cleverly branded point of sale materials. We plan to rapidly grow our new wine school, offering customers WSET accredited courses delivered in our unique brand style.”
The funding round is set to close later this spring.
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