Billed as the world’s first “venture studio” dedicated to creating new non-alcoholic drinks, the company’s first product to hit the shelves is “Seasn”, a non-alcoholic cocktail bitters product marketed as the “salt and pepper of drinks”.

The transaction was led by Barnaby Stokes, Legal Director, corporate, with support from: Matthew Rowbotham, Partner, Tax; Tom McEvoy, Senior Associate, Employment; and Romy Aspinall, Paralegal, Corporate.

Pollen Projects is the latest venture from Ben Branson, the founder of Seedlip. Emma Wykes, a former member of the Seedlip management team, has also joined as CEO.

Branson started Seedlip from his kitchen, and the company joined the Diageo-backed accelerator programme, Distill Ventures, in 2016. Lewis Silkin advised on the sale of Branson’s majority stake in Seedlip to Diageo in 2019.

Commenting on the deal, Lewis Silkin’s Barnaby Stokes said:

Ben continues to be at the forefront of the non-alcoholic drinks industry and we were delighted to work with him again on his latest venture.

Commenting on the deal, Seedlip's founder, Ben Branson, said:

It's great to be working with Barnaby and the team at Lewis Silkin to complete our first raise for Pollen Projects with a dream group of investors.