Having completed its a £15m ($17.1m) investment round, the UK boutique café group says the acquisition of Bottleshot Coffee will lead its push into the currently ‘under-developed’ UK ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee market
Annie Mitchell (left), David Abrahamovitch (centre) and Leonora Berend (right) | Photo credit: Grind
London-based boutique café group Grind is seeking growth in the ‘underdeveloped’ UK ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee market following its acquisition of Bottleshot Coffee.
Launched in 2019, Bottleshot Coffee is currently available at several UK retailers including Wholefoods, Ocado and WH Smith, as well as on board Virgin Atlantic flights.
The terms of the deal will see the Bottleshot Coffee brand gradually discontinued and replaced with Grind-branded RTD coffee cans.
As part of the acquisition, Bottleshot Coffee’s CEO Annie Mitchell and Chief Operating Officer Leonora Berend will join Grind to lead its push into the UK retail segment.
Alongside the RTD range, Grind will also begin the rollout of its branded coffee pods and packaged coffee to UK supermarkets. They are currently distributed online via the Grind website and an at-home or workplace subscription service.
The Bottleshot Coffee acquisition coincides with Grind completing its latest £15m ($17.1m) investment round, which it said values the boutique coffee group at £70m ($80m).
Grind said its new capital will also be used to open further high street outlets. The boutique café chain currently operates 10 stores across London.
“Grind had a fantastic 2022, and it’s great to start 2023 with a bang, announcing another major funding round and the acquisition of Bottleshot Coffee. For a while, I’ve believed that the RTD coffee market is quite under-developed in the UK, particularly compared to the US, and there still isn’t anyone with a real coffee pedigree making a canned coffee product which actually tastes like real coffee,” said David Abrahamovitch, Founder & CEO, Grind.
A joint statement from Abrahamovitch and Annie Mitchell, who takes on the role of Head of Grocery & B2B at Grind, said the company plans to turn Grind into the ‘leading challenger brand’ in the RTD coffee market ‘which is dominated by mass market and low-quality products’.
“Annie has built a great product and supply chain capable of delivering tens of millions of cans per year and has already signed up some great customers. We think we can take these foundations and supercharge them with the addition of the Grind brand,” Abrahamovitch added.
Grind’s parent company Grind Holdings reported revenues of £16.9m ($20.1m) for the 12 months ended 30 April 2022.
The UK-based boutique hospitality group cited its three-strong coffee cart business and an expanding wholesale and retail coffee offering as key drivers behind its 105% annual sales growth during the period.
In September 2022 Grind launched its first bricks-and-mortar café in the US as part of its global partnership with private members’ club group Soho House.
The coffee shop and bar, Grind's first international location, is located within Soho House’s Soho Home design studio outlet in Los Angeles.