PREPD launches $1.5m capital raising ahead of US launch
A sports drink created in Adelaide and described as the biggest change in hydration products since Gatorade’s launch in the 1960s is seeking $1.5m in investment ahead of a planned overseas expansion.
SA Business
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA Business. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Revolutionary sports drink launch by Flinders Uni commercial arm
- How to get the most out of your Advertiser subscription
The Adelaide start-up behind sports drink PREPD is seeking to raise $1.5m ahead of a planned US expansion later this year.
Since launching in 2018, PREPD has been used by elite cricketers, AFL teams, professional cyclists, V8 Supercars drivers and A-League soccer teams.
The product is a two-step hydration enhancer consumed 6-12 hours before, and then after exertion, and is designed to boost the absorption of electrolyte drinks or water.
Preserve Health, the company behind the ready-to-drink and powdered range, has launched an equity crowd-funding campaign to raise up to $1.5m in a bid to expand overseas.
The campaign, which closes on September 9, has already secured close to $400,000 from about 160 investors.
Chief executive Andrew Perry said the drink had attracted a loyal following since its launch, and hoped many of its consumers would become investors.
“Our customers are typically triathletes or cyclists - they’ve got reasonable levels of disposable income,” he said.
“Our goal is $1.5m which would be extraordinary. Speaking to Birchal (equity crowd-funding platform) we’re the second fastest start they’ve ever seen - certainly there’s lots of interest in the product.
“We have some patents on our products across Australia, the US and Europe, and they expire in 2034, so we want to expand our tentacles as best we can in the next 12-to-18 months so that we’re in a strong position to maximise the business’s scope.
“If we look at what we do here in Australia, we have an e-commerce site that talks to the distribution centre in Dudley Park, which then sends the product out - we’d look to replicate that in the US.”
PREPD is sold online and is stocked in more than 100 specialty retailers across the country, with distribution networks in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Six AFL clubs and two A-League clubs currently use the product while a group of NFL players is currently trialling the drink as part of preseason preparations.
Preserve Health has also secured a partnership with Fitness Vending to distribute sachets in gym vending machines in 3500 gyms across the country.
In addition to its international expansion plans, the company hopes to secure a partnership with a large sporting, chemist or nutrition chain by the end of the year to accelerate sales.
“We know the numbers in Australia - people who exercise more than three times a week for more than an hour - that’s 3.5 million people,” Mr Perry said.
“Our target market is for 1 per cent of that group to consume PREPD at least twice a week - we know that if we get that then we have an amazing business.
“It’s arguably the biggest change in hydration products since Gatorade which was launched in 1965.”
Preserve Health, which was spun out of Flinders University, raised close to $1m from private equity and other investors last year, including pro cycling coach Kevin Poulton.
Mr Perry said other investors had also shown interest.
“From a venture capital point of view we’ve had groups out of Japan and the US interested and we’ve had fruitful conversations with the SA Venture Capital Fund.”
For more details about the equity crowd-funding campaign visit the Birchal website.