Australian craft beer retailer Beer Cartel is hoping to raise up to $1.5 million through an equity crowd fund it says will be used to finance their next stage of growth.

Beer Cartel are seeking investors via the online equity crowd funding platform Birchal with the expression of interest phase due to expire on June 15. When the actual investment stage kicks off shares in the company will start at $100 in value.

The Birchal listing states Beer Cartel had a turnover of $4 million for the 2020 calendar year and have been growing 25 per cent on average year-on-year. In a statement the retailer said they had recorded a sales jump of 75 per cent over the past 12 months.

In the crowd fund’s “mission and objectives” section, Beer Cartel said: “(Our) mission is to make craft beer more accessible to Australians, becoming the number one choice for those looking to get great beer delivered to their door. Beer Cartel is already well known amongst those buying beer online, but we don’t want to stop there. We know we’ve got a great range and offer great service. We’re now looking to reach an even broader audience, achieving this through enhancements to our website, logistics and marketing. Alongside this we want to develop a unique purchasing model where you can get great beer at a great price”.

Beer Cartel co-founder Richard Kelsey (pictured above, right) said in the statement: “Our 100,000 loyal customers and 12 years of successful online retailing proves we mean business. As a part owner of the country’s biggest craft beer bottle shop not only will you be able to share in our success – you’ll also be given excellent perks. Imagine having personal access to an Aladdin’s Cave of craft beers from all over the world, at special investor prices.”

The statement went on to say that the retailer’s “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”.

Co-founder Geoff Huens (pictured above, left) said they had doubled their staff during the COVID period, from 13 employees to 26.

“We took great satisfaction from employing a lot of hospitality workers who lost their job during COVID,” he said. “It was also very satisfying to support craft breweries that were taking a massive financial hit because so many hospitality venues were closed or had severe capacity limits put in place. Our success had a flow on effect to many families and small businesses around Australia.”

The announcement of Beer Cartel’s crowd fund follows a number of Australasian craft breweries taking the same step.

Most recently, Sydney’s Batch Brewing broke several crowd funding records with their successful $1.5 million raise that closed at the start of April while investors in New Zealand’s Behemoth Brewing raised NZ$1.8 million in under 20 minutes in late 2020.

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