Crowdfunding continues to pull in investment for cannabis businesses far in excess of the targets they have set—and at breathtaking speed. OTO CBD is the latest: the beauty and wellness CBD brand set out to raise just over £2 million through the Seedrs investment platform. Half a day later, the firm was £2.65 million richer.
With 28 days left, 133% of OTO’s target has already been raised, totalling £2.66 million, from 142 investors. But will investment continue to pour in, or will OTO mirror the experience of medicinal cannabis r&d and distribution company Grow Group? In September, Grow hit its target of £3.2 million within just one hour of its launch on the Seedrs platform; with the campaign about to close, the total now stands at 111% of the target, at £3.57 million from 690 investors. After a frantic start, the pace of investment has tailed off in the following weeks.
In May, CBD wellness and beauty brand Kloris raised £334,898 from 282 investors through Seedrs—132% of its target, and in August, Jersey Hemp, a ‘seed-to-bottle’ cannabis company, raised £1.29 million from 629 investors through the same platform—115% of its target.
OTO is planning to use the new investment capital on two projects. One is a spa proposition to deliver its signature spa treatment to five-star luxury locations in the UK and globally. The other is to launch the brand in Spain before Christmas through luxury retailers and direct to consumers.
The brand is stocked by leading retailers Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, John Lewis and Selfridges, and is shipped to over 50 countries, according to information supplied by OTO as part of its Seedrs campaign. In a promotional video on the platform, OTO’s CEO James Bagley outlined the firm’s plan to raise additional funds or IPO to pursue mergers and acquisitions across Europe and the USA within 18 months.