An Aberdeen bar owner has raised £350,000 to launch a company specialising in canned cocktails.
Ben Iravani, owner of city-centre cocktail bar Orchid and 99 Bar and Kitchen, has co-founded Whitebox alongside partners Alex Lawrence, Pietro Collina, Roman Shabodalov and Jack Wareing.
With a business motto – “better canned cocktails”, the team decided to launch the business after they sold more than 60,000 cans of negroni, a popular Italian-style cocktail.
The initial negroni in a can was initially devised as a gifting service to raise spirits during lockdown
Mr Lawrence, a multi award winning and internationally recognised bartender, said: “We basically just dipped our toes in the water with the initial negroni can product and were pretty surprised at how well it went.
“We quickly realised that with some of the world’s best bartenders in our team, along with in-house production and design capabilities we could do something pretty unique on a much bigger scale.”
The Whitebox team completed a pre-seed £350,000 funding deal to support the establishment of a production site in Sighthill in Edinburgh where the products are mixed, blended and canned. The team was assisted in funding round by accountancy firm Johnston Carmichael.
Mr Iravani and Mr Lawrence are well known for having launched Porters’ Gin in 2015.
Mr Iravani said: “Wherever you are, take a look in your nearest store, you’ll see formulaic brands doing cocktails by numbers.
“We are doing the opposite. Each cocktail is unique and excellent, and the passion we have for making excellent drinks comes through in every detail.
“With Whitebox we’re not going to take the traditional approach of branded line extensions. We’re just going to make the best possible canned negroni.
“If you like it, try our other drinks. It is refreshingly simple, and an enjoyable way to create our products.”
Expansion plans underway
Seven staff are currently based in Edinburgh and a further three in London with plans to grow the team and expand the Whitebox line, with more products due to be launched in the coming months.
The idea was born out of the desire to create drinks that allowed customers to experience expertly mixed cocktails at their own convenience.
Now the Whitebox team have produced classic cocktails such as martinis, old fashioneds and whisky highballs, as well as collaborations with bars from around the world, with each product featuring its own unique design and bespoke recipe.
Eight premixed drinks are available in more than 100 UK retailers.
Canned cocktail market on the rise
All Whitebox products are mixed to adapt to being stored in cans and have a similar alcohol by volume (ABV) percentages to drinks served in the world’s top cocktail bars according to the team.
Forecast to be the fastest growing alcohol sector over the next five years, according to the IWSR Drinks Market analysis, the ready-to-drink space is booming with retail volume sales increasing by 24% year on year.
Stewart Pennington, deputy head of food and drink at Johnston and Carmichael, said: “Consumer behaviours have undoubtedly been influenced by lockdown and this exciting new venture for Ben and the Whitebox team is a standout offering in the current market, so it was no surprise that investors were eager to back the project.”
Orchid, in Langstane Place, was closed for most of 2020 due to Covid-19. During that time the bar had to redevelop its offering to survive the pandemic and launched a postal service for its cocktails.
The team at the venue sent out more than 15,000 cocktails to thousands of customers across the UK.