The Craftory
The Craftory is a British venture capital firm. The firm is headquartered in Piccadilly, London, and is also based in San Francisco, mainly focusing on the consumer goods industry. Founded in early 2018 by Ernesto Schmitt and Elio Leoni Sceti as an alternative to traditional Venture Capital, it focuses on cause-driven investment, only investing in companies offering products that positively impact the categories they serve. As of 2022, The Craftory has more than $600 million in permanent capital. History. The Craftory was founded in 2018 by Elio Leoni Sceti, former CEO of the Iglo Group and  EMI, and Ernesto Schmitt – a serial entrepreneur (Beamly, DriveTribe, Fabula AI). The Craftory's initial focus was specifically investing in new, digitally-activated consumer goods brands. It aimed to remove traditional advertising, instead utilising brand storytelling and digital marketing. Early investors in The Craftory included Spice Private Equity & GP Investments, who invested $60 million in May 2018. The remainder of the capital coming from private wealth. Focus. The current fund size is $600 million in permanent capital and the firm only invests in ‘Challenger Brands’. The Craftory actively invests in up to 10 challenger brands with annual revenues  of more than $10m, in various consumer sectors including beauty, health, food, household and personal care. Investments. The Craftory has made several investments to date. These include $18 million into NotCo, the Chilean plant based food company. $18 million into gender neutral underwear apparel TomboyX. $16 million into sustainable detergent pod maker Dropps. $20 million into Present Life. $20 million into sustainable diaper brand Dyper and $22 million into natural dog-food brand Edgard & Cooper. Partners & Board. As of spring 2020, the firm had seven partners, and three board members including: The