- Loan Successfully Funded On 1 Feb 2024 and in Repayment
Native Botanical Brewery Scale Up Funding
Native Botanical Brewery
- Erina, NSW, Australia
Menu
- 80,500 AUD
Loan in repayment
Loan in repayment
The impact loan will be used to scale up this emerging First Nations business. Capital from the loan will be invested in stock, marketing and Research and Development/product innovation. These investments will significantly increase business growth and produce an outstanding representation of First Nations owned business in the native food industry. Also it will provide a better life for Corey’s family and allow Corey to become a mentor to other business owners in this industry.
- 10 Lenders
Committed
- 36 months
Loan Period
- 8%
Interest Rate
- BACKGROUND
Loan summary
Corey contacted Worthwhile Ventures asking about the LendForGood platform to potentially gain scale up funding. He has managed to get his ginger beer to a scale up point by getting his manufacturing processes refined to allow large batches to be made. He has reached this point but doesn’t have the capital to make the first large batch to start taking advantage of large retail and wholesale opportunities.
In his first year of production he managed to turn over $20,000 this was originally done through kegs and then moved to cans being produced at the brewery. So far in this year due to the product being in cans he has turned over $32,000. The loan will enable Corey to place a large order in February of 1000 cartons costing $50,000 and $10,000 for coffee over the year. This will give Corey the confidence to pursue the larger opportunities and also give the larger clients the confidence he can deliver the larger quantities they require. His goal would be to place another order of this size in the second half of 2024.
If successful in growing his business Corey can be a shining light to other First Nations people who would like to make a successful business using native ingredients. Currently there are less than 1% of First Nations Businesses in the $80 million native food industry.
On a personal note Corey would like to make a successful business to provide a better life and future for his family. This would result in generational positive change for them.
Borrower's mission
Corey has long been a champion of using native ingredients in food and beverages. He has also been educating people on the benefits of native ingredients during this time. A major passion for Corey is to increase First Nations people in the $80 million a year native food industry of which they make up less than 1%.
Corey has been perfecting his ginger beer over the last few years. He has been primarily doing small orders direct to customers and a few outlets, as well as markets and festivals. In his first year he turned over $20,000 with the majority of this coming from markets and festivals. There was only a very small amount from direct to customers. This will grow but we don’t envisage large numbers. As Corey became more well known he did get some small retail outlets. This market has a lot of potential to increase but each small outlet won’t take large orders so volume of clients will be key . This will need to get to at least 100 ordering 2 to 4 cartons a year. We believe this is very achievable with a more targeted marketing plan and setting targets. The other market was festivals and markets. In our experience these are a very good source of income. First Nations products do very well here as the people attending don’t get to see many First Nations products. Capturing details of buyers should be done as they can become repeat customers or advocates to others for the product. So far this year Corey has turned over $32,000, a marked increase on last year. The majority of this comes from increased retail stores.
To have a significant increase in sales, large wholesale opportunities need to be explored. Corey having got his business to a scale up position will be a very enticing First Nations business for IPP procurement opportunities in large corporations, government and even export. This will take some time to come to fruition so concentrating on smaller more direct markets is a must especially in the early part of next year.
This loan will allow Corey to scale up considerably allowing him to make his ginger beer, new beverages and coffee to become a larger commercial success to make Native Botanical Brewery a long term viable business for him and his family.
The activities funded by this loan are helping to achieve the above Sustainable Development Goals as defined by the UN.
Intermediary's experience with impact enterprises
Worthwhile Ventures (WV) has been assisting First Nations businesses through a network of pro bono partners since 2016. The pro bono partners expertise covers all areas of business such as IT, Legal, Accounting, Human Resources and Marketing. These businesses have been primarily privately owned. In the last 12 months we have focused on First Nations Social Enterprises which require a lot more assistance to become successful. Our programs are built around business growth by providing realistic and achievable strategies. We not only provide information but also assist in the implementation to give the enterprises the greatest chance of success. Currently WV assists 31 enterprises across a wide range of industries. Some of these include food, clothing, education and construction. Due to the different industries, resources and business experience of the business owners our programs have to be very flexible and individually tailored. The focus is on the needs of the business and not generic business advice. The goal is to provide realistic and achievable strategies that have measurable outcomes for the business. Also we don’t simply give information, we assist in implementing it. By utilising this strategy most engaged businesses have an increase in turnover with some seeing significant growth. WV will hopefully see our first $1 million turnover business this financial year.
- IMPACT
Impacts and how they are measured
The loan will allow a First Nations business to take advantage of the growing native food industry. Currently there are very few owned First Nations businesses in this space. Showing success can be achieved will encourage other First Nations businesses to enter the native food industry. As Corey becomes more successful he can create a better future for his family and become a role model for business ownership in his community. WV is driven to increase the number of First Nations businesses. It is our belief there will not be true equality and self determination until this occurs. First Nations businesses provide an avenue to have a significant impact on the Closing the Gap targets. As First Nations become more economically stronger they generally invest back into their communities. This is where First Nations people can have ownership of their self determination. People like Corey have that passion to get back we just have to give them them a chance to become successful and overcoming access to capital to grow their business is a significant barrier to this.
Ready to lend?
This loan is not currently accepting subscriptions, but we invite you to check out some of the other live loans on the platform. In order to participate in loans you must be a registered lender on the LendForGood platform. If this is your first time lending with us we’ll guide you through the process to first get registered. Thank you for lending your passion!