Goodrays - blood orange & grapefruit, passionfruit & pomelo

Goodrays’ drinks are listed with retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons

Challenger CBD brand Goodrays has closed a £5m Series A fundraise to fuel future growth ambitions.

The round was backed by Guinness Ventures, alongside existing and new institutional investors and celebrity backers including TV presenters Vernon Kay, Tess Daly and Ed Leigh.

Funds would be used to launch new products, ramp up marketing investment and support new and existing retail partnerships, Goodrays said.

Goodrays – which makes CBD drinks, gummies and oils and is listed with retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons – has also appointed Ben Dando, the former international MD of Liquid Death, to lead the business into its next phase of growth.

Dando joined the supplier last month, having left Liquid Death following its decision to pull out of the UK market earlier this year.

“This round is a huge milestone on our mission to build the UK’s leading premium functional drinks brand,” said Goodrays founder Eoin Keenan. “The support from Guinness Ventures, renowned for their expertise in building iconic brands, combined with Ben’s proven track record, positions us perfectly for our next phase of growth and to continue to cement ourselves as a disruptor in the industry.”

Goodrays had doubled revenue year on year for the past three consecutive years while also doubling profits, Keenan said, while declining to provide exact figures.

The brand had secured listings in four major UK retailers in 2024 and was poised to take advantage of full market authorisation for CBD products in the UK – now expected in early 2026 – he added.

In the past year sales of its drinks have grown by 51% to £5.4m [NIQ 52 we 14 June 2025].