Just Wines has acquired Beer Cartel and Brewquets, adding to its growing ecommerce liquor portfolio that includes San Drinks and Liquor Loot.
Just Wines founder Nitesh Bhatia said: “We started Just Wines in 2012 to support small wineries and provide an accessible platform for sellers and wine aficionados to connect.
“We’ve seen significant growth within the business and have built out further capability through the acquisition of Sans Drinks and Liquor Loot. This most recent acquisition, means the group covers all main liquor categories
in Australia, further strengthening our competitive position.
“We recognise the success Beer Cartel has had within the online craft beer space over the past 15 years. It has been an industry leader, as evident from it winning Beer and Brewers’ Best Online Retailer award five times and tnumerous other awards.
“We’re excited to be the new custodian of the brand and see the success of the business going forward. We’ll be welcoming its diverse craft beer product range including its very popular Beer Advent Calendar.”
Beer Cartel markets itself as “Australia’s #1 Online Craft Beer Store”. Founders Richard Kelsey and Geoff Huens started the business from a self-storage shed in 2009 and launched their iconic Beer Advent Calendar boxes in 2015.
The business announced announced in December 2022 that it was shifting to be 100% online, following its decision to move to a new warehouse location. It said the requirement of the new site and licensing restrictions meant having a bricks and mortar store was not possible.
Brewquets creates bouquets of the drinkable variety. It originated as a beer only gifting business, with wine was added to the mix in 2022 and spirits in 2023.
“For Brewquets we see significant synergies across the entire portfolio of the group,” Bhatia said.
“We now have beer, wine, spirits and non-alcoholic drinks that we can offer as gifts to both consumers and businesses alike. Brewquets can be a one-stop gifting shop for all occasions, whether it be a birthday, Christmas or client gift. Utilising our range from each business unit we are excited by the depth of product range we will be able to offer.”
Bhatia said that as part of the acquisition he expects to maintain the key strengths of both Beer Cartel and Brewquets. “We don’t want to revolutionise these two highly successful businesses.
“We’ll simply be looking at how we can integrate our key capabilities into these great organisations to grow the customer base for each. We want to acknowledge the founders, Richard and Geoff, as well as the fantastic suppliers and customers that have been with the two businesses over the past 15 years. We look forward to deepening these relationships over the coming years.”