Beer Cartel is looking to raise up to $1.5 million in capital through its equity crowdfunding offer with capital intended to fund the next stage of growth for the business including refinements for its website, logistics and online offering.
Like most e-commerce businesses, the business grown significantly since COVID with increasing subscriptions and the growth in sales still continuing. Last month’s sales have eclipsed those from May last year and sales have increased by 75 per cent since COVID.
“2020 put a lot of pressure on us, but we took great satisfaction from employing a lot of hospitality workers who lost their job during COVID. We doubled our staff during COVID, up from 13 to 26,” said cofounder Geoff Huens.
Sales were not just limited to Beer Cartel’s range of 1,000 craft beers, it also saw a massive increase in its mixed craft beer packs and its monthly beer subscription.
Co-founder Richard Kelsey said, “Last year there was a big increase for online subscription businesses, and we definitely saw that with our beer subscription as well, growing by over 100% from the year prior.”
Beer Cartel started in 2009 with the proposition of servicing beer drinkers around Australia with the best beers from Australia and overseas with the co-founders Huens and Kelsey suggesting the selection being offered by Australia’s bottle shops and pubs at the time as ‘pedestrian’.
Since then, Beer Cartel says its main advantage over competitors in the market is their intimate relationships with craft breweries around the world. Every week, Beer Cartel has 1,000 options to choose from and 20-30 new beers being added, with many exclusive to its website and Sydney store.
The online retailer has witnessed the full evolution of Australia’s craft beer trend. When the company first started, the craft beer industry was still in its infancy with a mere 100 breweries. Today, the robust scene boasts more than 700 craft breweries – all happily coexisting. And that number is growing year on year as more people discover the joys of new and different beers.
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