Ag Capital Canada leads $4.8M investment to accelerate growth of Dairy Distillery’s sustainable alcohol products
May 14, 2021
Based in the idyllic town of Almonte, Ontario, Dairy Distillery develops innovative technology to transform an unused dairy industry by-product (known as milk permeates) into award-winning spirits. Vodkow vodka is Canada’s only carbon-neutral vodka and Vodkow cream liquor is the only spirits bottle to feature the logo of the Dairy Farmers of Canada.
Founder Omid McDonald summarizes his company’s philosophy: “We craft great spirits that do good.”
Vodkow has attracted a legion of fans and is on-shelf in Ontario, Alberta and Nova Scotia. The distillery aims to have Canada-wide distribution by the end of the year and has plans to enter the US market.
When COVID-19 hit, the company pivoted to respond to its community’s need for hand sanitizer. Its “Buy 1 to Give 1” program enabled the donation of 30,000 bottles of sanitizer to charities in the Ottawa area. Dairy Distillery continues to supply sanitizer to groups including The Ottawa Hospital, the City of Ottawa and Canadian Blood Services.
Mr. McDonald also explains that Dairy Distillery has ambitions beyond spirits: “As we brought Vodkow to market, we discovered that our core technology opens doors to new opportunities. Ag Capital Canada’s investment allows us to accelerate our spirits growth and develop high-volume markets such as industrial and fuel ethanol.”
“This company met – and surpassed – our criteria for an investment,” said John DePutter, one of Ag Capital Canada’s General Partner Principals.
“We were attracted to its diversified product mix, patent-pending technology and top-notch management team. We’ve invested in the company’s vision of transforming an unused agricultural by-product into useful consumer products.”
“We’re pleased to have seized the opportunity to provide capital for this company, along with other investors, to lift the total for this funding round to the $4.8 million mark,” added DePutter.
About Ag Capital Canada
Ag Capital Canada (ACC) is a private equity fund focused on investment in Canadian ag innovation, small business growth and entrepreneurship. ACC aims to discover, develop and nurture Canadian agricultural businesses through capital investment, business-management mentorship and entrepreneurial expertise. For more information on ACC, visit www.agcapitalcanada.com.
About Dairy Distillery
Dairy Distillery develops technology to transform unused milk sugar into sustainable alcohol used to make award-winning spirits (Vodkow), hand sanitizer and transport fuel. Vodkow vodka is Canada’s only carbon-neutral vodka and Vodkow cream liquor the only spirits bottle to feature the Dairy Farmers of Canada’s logo. Dairy Distillery pivoted to make hand sanitizer for its community and received funding from the
Ontario government to scale production. The company is working to build a large-scale ethanol plant to produce low-carbon ethanol for transport fuel. For more information, visit www.dairydistillery.com.
Media contacts:
Dairy Distillery
Claire Mills
media@dairydistillery.com
Tel. 613.882.2567
Ag Capital Canada
John DePutter
info@agcapitalcanada.com
Tel. 519.433.0133