Sorbet to start crowd-funding campaign
Solid beauty-bar business Sorbet is raising funds for international expansion in a new crowd-funded equity campaign.
Tomorrow, owner-operator Brianne West will launch the campaign on crowd-funding platform Pledgeme. Up to 200,000 shares – or 16 per cent of the company – will be available for a dollar a share.
The Christchurch start-up creates a range of solid beauty products, including shampoos, cleansers and moisturisers. West says the bars, which come with biodegradable packaging, enable customers to ‘‘do away with the bottle’’ and cut down on wastage created by many hygiene products.
Pledgeme functions so fundraisers must hit a certain target, or they’ll get nothing. In Sorbet’s case, they must sell 150,000 within the month to claim the ‘‘pledges’’.
West said crowd-funding was an accessible means of capital raising for small businesses.
‘‘Crowd-funding, I think, is a great idea – it takes it out of the hands of big corporate investors and you can really get your crowd on board, allowing your customers the chance to get involved with your business,’’ she said.
Customers can get their piece of the pie for $1 a share, with a minimum buy-in of 500 shares.
If they successfully raise the money, West said the funds would go towards new branding, which would boost their presence in retail stores; and expanding manufacturing premises. Currently, 90 per cent of sales are through the company’s online store.
She said the company would also tentatively start an export investigation. Expansion into international markets was likely, particularly environmentally aware countries like Singapore and Japan, with expansion into Europe a long-term goal. Plans to further increase market share in Australasia were under way.
‘‘Export’s a tricky one, because you get loads and loads of opportunities and people who want to stock you, but it’s really tricky to pick the right ones and do it slowly and carefully. So we’re not committing to anything until we do some more research and have boots on the ground.’’
West believes Sorbet is the country’s first 100 per cent solid skin and hair care range. She established the company in late 2012 while studying at the University of Canterbury.