Bristol-based soft drinks company, Counter Culture Drinks has announced its first two not-for-profit shareholders as part of an innovative operating model that will see 51% of the business and 5% of total sales allocated to supporting social and environmental causes.
Driven by a goal to raise at least £1 million for non-profit organisations through their business endeavours, the founders of the B Corp pending kombucha company have created commercially compassionate shares to be allocated to charities and civil society organisations that share its values and vision.
Inspired by the way pioneering companies such as Patagonia, or movements like B Corp have changed the conversation around what it means to be a purpose driven business, Counter Culture Drinks created its CC shares to find an approach that goes beyond traditional corporate and non-profit partnerships, making the organisations it works with an integral part of the business structure and story.
With supermarket sales of kombucha growing by 31% in value and 28% in volume during 2023 alone, the booming alcohol-free drinks market could see significant returns for CC shareholders over the coming years.
Tom Smart, CEO and co-founder of Counter Culture, said:
‘At Counter Culture Drinks we believe in doing things differently, from the design of our products to the structure of our business and our ultimate aim to empower civil society organisations to create positive change. Rather than donating a set amount of money to charities or having one charity partnership, we wanted to make sure that, from the very start, the success of the business would directly benefit our CC shareholders as well as traditional shareholders.’
The first two organisations to benefit from this shareholder model are UK based, Alcohol Change UK and BillyChip.
Alcohol Change UK is a leading UK alcohol charity who work towards a society that is free from the harm caused by alcohol. With recent research from the charity, who run Dry January®, showing that more than one in four people want to reduce the amount of alcohol they drink in 2024, Counter Culture Drinks is keen to support their work to help people transform their relationship with alcohol, whilst enjoying life to the full.’
Danielle Houliston, Executive Director of Income and Engagement of Alcohol Change UK, said:
‘We were honoured to be invited by the Counter Culture team to be a charity share partner and feel that this partnership perfectly reflects our values as an organisation. Counter Culture’s kombuchas are a perfect alcohol-free alternative, helping to support people to change the way they drink in the long term.’
Billy Chip is a Bristol based not-for-profit organisation, which works to bridge the gap between the homeless and the public, through its ‘a safe and secure street currency’, which gives individuals who are experiencing homelessness or extreme poverty a choice of free food, drink and other safe provision.
Jon Hope, CEO of BillyChip, said:
‘When we first spoke with Tom at Counter Culture about their business structure and share offer, we got excited immediately, as BillyChip is set up in a similar way. Kombucha is new to the market and different, a lot like BillyChip. We also saw a huge synergy between our outlets as potential sellers of Counter Culture drinks and wanted to help.’
Photo: Counter Culture Drinks
