Conscious Cape Town cola brand crowdfunds for expansion

Cape Cola is running a crowdfunding campaign to raise enough money to expand its locally-sourced, ethically-produced cola soft drink business operations.

The Thundafund crowdfunding campaign will allow the company to buy much-needed syrup and bottles, develop a professional recycling system, redesign the bottle, create new flavours, improve logistics and extend the core team from leisure time to full time.

It's the company's vision to give something back to South Africa by being more than just a refreshing soft drink; it has goals of social and sustainable quality. It has identified three core propositions for its Cola, activities and vision.

Natural flavour

Cape Cola consists of 98% natural ingredients. The five most important ingredients are real kola nut, lime, ginger, mate and for a special South African flavour, honeybush, giving a unique flavoured taste of the Cape. It leaves out ingredients such as phosphoric acid, anti-foaming agents and preservatives. According to the company, these ingredients are not beneficial and should not be part of our daily diet or any consumable. Moreover, each bottle of Cape Cola contains only 5 grams of sugar.

Regional rootedness

In terms of this project, it wants to be part of the ‘good hope’ of the Cape. This means that it works with local companies that stand out with their fair and social attitude towards their suppliers and employees. Its partners include:

• Parceval (manufacture of the tincture)
• Fruition (manufacture of the syrup)
• Picardie (source of the spring water)
• Patterson wine (adds the bubbles and fills the bottles)

Social responsibility

Cape Cola also hopes to tackle the imbalance of social instability by supporting local communities and social projects, with a particular focus on education, protecting the environment and climate change. Currently, it is looking into several options to do so but nothing has been finalised. With each bottle sold, the business will use a certain percentage of it to contribute towards a good cause.

The campaign has a range of rewards on offer, from merchandise to weekend hampers, in exchange for the money it is trying to raise. For more information, visit Cape Cola's Thundafund page.