Spanish brewer Damm has taken a minority stake in UK soft-drinks brand Dalston’s Soda Co.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
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Damm is to produce Dalston’s Soda at its UK production site in Bedford in southern England, which it re-opened last year.
Dalston’s Soda was founded in London by chef Duncan O’Brien and sells fruit-based sodas made without added sugar, artificial sweeteners or flavourings. O’Brien owns the business alongside a group of angel investors.
The investment makes Dalston’s Soda the first soft-drinks business to join Damm’s accelerator programme at the Bedford site, which the company says is “designed to support fledgling beverage brands”.
Speaking to Just Drinks, Luke White, the managing director of Damm’s business in the UK, said Dalston’s Soda was weighted to the UK off-trade but he stressed the Spanish group sees opportunities for the brand across the off- and on-premise.
“When you take a step back and you look at the soft drinks category, especially on those brands that are more natural, more premium, considered better-for-you, they are growing and they’re growing in every channel and subchannel,” White said.
“One of the biggest things that excites us is the scale at which we think this brand could grow to, given the way that the consumers are interacting now with healthier beverages, so it’s not a one-channel opportunity.”
Dalston’s Soda’s products are listed by UK retailers including Waitrose, Asda and Ocado. It also supplies hospitality and independent outlets in the country.
Founder O’Brien said: “It’s a little mind-blowing to see Dalston’s make it from its bootstrapped origins to partnering with Damm. They’re a superb ally for Dalston’s – we share a focus on producing great-tasting drinks, and a real respect for gastronomy, sustainability and the arts.”
Damm also wants to take Dalston’s to global markets, though it could not confirm at this stage where it might export the brand to.
“We operate in over 130 countries with various export partners. Once we start manufacturing, we’ll start working with them on export opportunities that sit outside,” White said.
“If you look at how large soft drinks are in the US, that’s definitely an exciting market, especially in states that are a bit more health-conscious, so the likes of Florida and California.
“Far East Asia is also a really interesting one in terms of what they do with RTDs, the way that they’re evolving in soft drinks. So, China and Japan is also of interest, as is Australia but the reality is we’ve got lots of very strong export relationships with partners across the whole of the world and we’ll make this available to all of them.”
Damm reopened the Bedford site as the Damm Eagle Brewery in October after a £70m ($93.1m) modernisation programme intended to create a hub for “beyond beer” innovation.
The company said the work added syrup-handling and mixing technology alongside a canning line and increased capacity at the brewery, which has the potential to expand to two million hectolitres.
Damm said it will now carry out a further phase of upgrades at the site.
The deal comes just over two months after the Barcelona-based group agreed to acquire Greene King’s Old Speckled Hen beer range in the UK.
