July hasn’t been dry for Lyre’s, which just raised $34.5 million for non-alcoholic spirits

Non-alcoholic spirit giant, Lyre’s, has just closed a $34.5 million funding round just in time for Dry July.

The round was led by previous investors, DSquared and Morgan Creek Consumer Fund. Despite only launching in Australia back in 2019, the latest cash injection follows a $37 million round in 2021 and $16 million in 2020.

During that time it has become one of the world’s leading non-alcoholic spirit companies. While 2023 has been a challenging funding environment for most startups, Lyre’s has been going from strength to strength.

In addition to producing award-winning products, it came into the market at a time when increasingly more consumers were looking for high-end non-alcoholic alternatives. 

In the past couple of years, we’ve seen this trend grow across beer, wine and cocktails as well. Non-alcoholic beer favourite, Heaps Normal, has seen huge success, including a $8.5 million raise in 2021. It went on to reach B Corp status earlier this year.

And just last week non-alcoholic cocktail startup, Naked Life, raised $3 million on equity crowdfunding platform Birchal.

And the market is likely to just get stronger. According to recent statistics, the global non-alcoholic beverage market is expected to grow by 4.56% annually.

According to Lyre’s, the latest funding round will be used to expand its supply chain and production capabilities as the brand grows in popularity across the globe.

The news also coincides with the business promoting chief marketing officer, Paul Gloster, to CEO.

“I am humbled to be given the opportunity to lead Lyre’s into a new chapter of growth and build upon our vision of changing the way the world drinks,” Gloster said.

“Our new expanded leadership structure ensures accountability across all our strategic priorities and business functions. I am excited to work with such a capable and passionate team that is energised and ready to lead the business into our next exciting stage.”