Tequila start-up raises £500K to fund launch
The Leeds-based company is planning to launch the new range of sipping tequilas to trade and consumers later this year. It set to launch in late 2021 with three products – Tequila Blanco, Pineapple Tequila Blanco and Tequila Anejo Cristalino.
Among the investors is Doug Bouton, co-founder of Halo Top ice creams.
The funds will cover the day-to-day running of the business, development of the brand, marketing activity and product development and production.
The company said that after witnessing the boom in popularity that vodka and gin have had in recent years, founders, Seb Francis and Jordan Myers, identified an opportunity to revolutionise tequila.
The Hacien range of premium tequilas were honed through multiple trips to Mexico visiting hundreds of distilleries to find a partner who would help produce a smoother tasting tequila for the UK market.
“We’ve spent the last 18-months carefully crafting and developing Hacien so we can launch with a range of drinks that turn people’s perception of tequila on its head," Seb Francis, co-founder of Hacien, said. "Tequila is incredibly popular in the USA where it is usually sipped or mixed into cocktails like gin.”
“We wanted to develop a premium tequila using 100% blue agave so it has naturally sweeter flavour. Now we’ve reached our funding target, and have some great investors on board, we’re ready to gear up for the launch of our three products later this year.”
Bouton, who produces lower-calorie ice cream brand Halo Top, said that the brand aims to change the way people think about and drink tequila.
“When launching Halo Top, we had an ambition to disrupt and improve a saturated market and that drive is very similar to what Hacien want to do within the spirits sector. I’m excited to see the brand and its range of flavours launch later this year and be part of the business going from strength to strength.”
