A gin distillery is looking for £250,000 of crowdfunding investment to help it crack the USA and Asia with its Marilyn Monroe pink gin.
Leicestershire distiller Burleighs launched the gin at the start of the year having spent months negotiating with the estate of the Some Like it Hot and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes star.
It is now producing the world’s first Marilyn Monroe gin at its base in the Charnwood Forest, and has launched the appeal as part of a drive to find partners in the two new markets.
Burleighs, which said it has been valued at around £4.1 million, has already collected almost £100,000 from 134 investors on the Crowdcube investment platform.
In all it is offering 5.69 per cent of its equity to new backers, with around three weeks left of the campaign.
Managing director Matt Payne said there had to be a strict due diligence process to make it onto the funding site.
He said: “We want to use the money to set up distillery and distribution partners in the States and Asia.
“One of the reasons we are looking beyond the EU is Brexit, and one of the reasons we want to find production partners is to cut down on export costs and cut our carbon footprint.
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“Marilyn Monroe would be a real foot in the door to the States, because she is so globally recognised.
“But the US it’s a very different market to the 海角视频 – every state is different, so we need someone who understands how it works.
“In Asia we are looking at countries such as China, South Korea, and then maybe Thailand, Singapore and Japan.”
He said Marilyn Monroe accounts had millions of followers on Facebook and Instagram and her legacy was massive in South Korea.
The pink bottles – which were designed in-house – feature a picture of Monroe on the front in a black swimsuit from the film Love Nest.
On the back there is a classic image of her in a billowing white dress from The Seven Year Itch.
The Hollywood star died in 1962 but is still remembered for her “blonde bombshell” looks and iconic place in American popular culture.
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Mr Payne said it had been a massive coup to partner with the Monroe estate, putting Burleighs in the same company as international giants such as Chanel, Coca Cola, Calvin Klein and Mont Blanc.
Burleighs was launched five years ago and has nine gins in its range. Four core varieties – its main signature gin, along with export, distillers and pink gin – account for two-thirds of sales.
It also distills Leicester City, Leicester Tigers and Richard III gins, as well as a collaboration with the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, not to mention Marilyn Monroe, which sells for around £35.
The business turned over £1 million in the year to last January, with a £151,000 loss which Mr Payne put down to investment in staffing and products and general “expansion costs”.
This year the distillery, in the village of Nanpantan, will produce more than 100,000 70cl bottles, up from 70,000 last year, he said.
Mr Payne, who is a shareholder in the business, said: “Depending on how quickly the US and Asian markets take off, we are anticipating significant orders.
“That is why we are going with a collaborative approach and using partnerships with globally recognised brands.
“It also means that if we have a distillery partner in the US who like the gin, but want to look at doing another spirit, we can be adaptable.”
As part of the growth strategy the business hopes to take on two new sales people targeting the off-trade and another person to target restaurants and bars around the Midlands.
That will take the total staff into double figures.
At present around 15-20 per cent of sales go overseas, with particular interest in Spain.