Beer Cartel
Beer Cartel is an Australian online craft beer bottleshop founded in 2009, selling 1,000+ craft beers from Australian and international breweries directly to consumers via pick-and-mix sales, curated mixed packs, monthly subscriptions, and seasonal gift products.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersSydney, Australia
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Beer Cartel does
Beer Cartel is a privately-held Australian direct-to-consumer craft beer bottleshop, founded in 2009 and operating from a warehouse and distribution facility at 6 Burilda Close, Wetherill Park, New South Wales. The company sells a catalog of more than 1,000 craft beers sourced from Australian and international breweries — including Australia, Belgium, Canada, England, Germany, New Zealand, and the United States — across styles such as IPA, NEIPA, lager, pale ale, porter, stout, sour, and non-alcoholic options. Customers can shop by brewery, country, or style and filter by alcohol strength and price.
The business is built on a Shopify storefront and monetizes through three primary product lines: (1) pick-and-mix individual beers, (2) curated mixed packs priced between A$54.99 and A$149.99 including limited editions, IPA-focused and country-themed packs, and (3) a recurring Beer Club subscription offering five monthly tiers (Bootlegger A$39.99, Speak Easy, Night Watch dark beer, Hop Head IPA A$84.99, and Black Market limited edition). Ancillary revenue streams include a Birthday Beer Box (A$89.99), a seasonal 24-pack Beer Advent Calendar, beer gift hampers, glassware from brands such as Rastal Teku and Petrus, digital gift cards, and a dedicated corporate gifting enquiry function.
The go-to-market is exclusively direct-to-consumer e-commerce with Australia-wide flat-rate shipping (A$9.99/case in NSW/ACT, A$14.99/case elsewhere) and a specialized manual-handling delivery service. Marketing is conducted via email newsletter (Litmus), organic social (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook), a Beer News blog, and customer reviews via Judge.me. Sole external funding to date is a July 2021 round of approximately A$1,075,109; the founder and director is Richard Kelsey. The company has been voted Australia's Best Online Beer Retailer five times.
Beer Cartel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Beer Cartel
- Legal name
- Beer Cartel
- Website
- https://beercartel.com.au
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Beer Cartel is an Australian online craft beer bottleshop founded in 2009, selling 1,000+ craft beers from Australian and international breweries directly to consumers via pick-and-mix sales, curated mixed packs, monthly subscriptions, and seasonal gift products.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Beer Cartel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Craft Beer Retail
- NAICS
- Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (445320), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (4453)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Beer Retail (Bottle Shops & Beer Merchants) (CRANABAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Alcohol Subscription & Wine Clubs (Retail) (CRANABAF), Liquor Stores (Off-Premise Spirits Retail) (CRANABAA)
Keywords
Where Beer Cartel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sydney
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Beer Cartel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Personnel
Revenue model
- Direct Product Sales: One-time purchase of individual craft beers, mixed packs, and gift items. Customers can purchase single bottles/cans or curated multi-pack selections.
- Beer Subscription: Monthly recurring subscription model delivering curated craft beer selections to subscribers. Multiple subscription tiers available with different pack sizes and beer styles.
- Gift Cards: Digital gift cards available for purchase, allowing recipients to select their own beers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Pick & Mix Individual Beers |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Curated Mixed Beer Packs |
| Subscription | Monthly | The Bootlegger Monthly 6 Pack Subscription |
| Subscription | Monthly | The Hop Head Monthly IPA 8 Pack Subscription |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Birthday Beer Box |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Beer Cartel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Beer Cartel is Australia's largest online craft beer bottleshop, selling 1,000+ craft beers from Australian and international breweries through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront. The core offering spans pick-and-mix individual beer purchases, curated style- and country-themed mixed packs, and a recurring monthly Beer Club subscription service, complemented by gift-oriented products such as hampers, advent calendars, gift cards, and glassware.
Product overview
Beer Cartel is an Australian online craft beer retailer operating as an e-commerce platform built on Shopify. The core offering consists of three interconnected product lines: (1) Individual beers sold via Pick & Mix (over 1,000 craft beers), (2) Curated Mixed Beer Packs organized by style/country/occasion, and (3) Beer Subscription service (Beer Club) providing monthly deliveries. The business augments these with gift-oriented products including Birthday Beer Box, Beer Advent Calendar, Beer Gift Hampers, Gift Cards, and Beer Glassware accessories. The company also offers Corporate Gifts for B2B clients. The platform differentiates through Australia-wide delivery, specialized packaging for safe transit, and gift messaging capabilities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Voted as Australia's Best Online Beer Retailer five times
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Beer Cartel
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Beer Cartel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
Beer Cartel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Beer Cartel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cellarmasters / Langton's: Australian wine-focused subscription and online retailer. Comparable because it pioneered the curated, discovery-led online alcohol subscription model in Australia that Beer Cartel adapts for craft beer.
- Naked Wines: Subscription-based online alcohol retailer (wine-led but expanding into beer/spirits). Comparable as a digitally native, subscription-anchored alcohol retailer operating in overlapping gifting and discovery use cases.
- BoozeBud: Australian online alcohol retailer offering on-demand delivery of beer, wine and spirits. Closest direct competitor in the Australian online bottleshop space, sharing DTC delivery model and craft/producer focus.
- Tavour: US-based craft beer delivery and subscription platform offering curated beers from independent breweries. Closest international analogue to Beer Cartel's subscription and pick-and-mix model in the craft segment.
Others
- Mountain Culture Beer Co. Australian craft brewery stocked on Beer Cartel. Relevant as a key supplier/brand partner whose own DTC channel could compete with Beer Cartel for end consumer relationships.
- Hop Nation Brewing Co. Australian craft brewery distributed and featured by Beer Cartel. Comparable as a high-profile supplier brand whose growing taproom and online sales illustrate the brewery-DTC disintermediation risk.
Broad incumbents
- First Choice Liquor: Coles-owned liquor retail banner with national footprint and online ordering. Comparable as a multi-format competitor whose pricing and breadth can pressure Beer Cartel's premium craft positioning.
- Liquorland: Coles Group liquor banner operating neighborhood liquor stores and an online storefront. Overlaps with Beer Cartel in off-premise beer and spirits retail, particularly on convenience-driven purchases.
- Dan Murphy's: Australia's largest off-premise alcohol retailer, owned by Woolworths Group. Comparable because it competes in beer retail across price points and has an aggressive e-commerce offering that overlaps with Beer Cartel's core range.
- BWS (Beer, Wine & Spirits): Woolworths-owned national liquor banner with growing online channel and craft selection. A broad incumbent that increasingly competes for the same craft and gifting occasions as Beer Cartel.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Beer Cartel social profiles
Digital presenceBeer Cartel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Beer Cartel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Beer Cartel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Beer Cartel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Beer Cartel
What does Beer Cartel do?
Beer Cartel is Australia's largest online craft beer bottleshop, selling 1,000+ craft beers from Australian and international breweries through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront. The core offering spans pick-and-mix individual beer purchases, curated style- and country-themed mixed packs, and a recurring monthly Beer Club subscription service, complemented by gift-oriented products such as hampers, advent calendars, gift cards, and glassware.
Is Beer Cartel a public or private company?
Beer Cartel is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Beer Cartel founded?
Beer Cartel was founded in 2009. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Beer Cartel based?
Beer Cartel is headquartered in Sydney, Australia, in the Oceania region.
How does Beer Cartel make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Direct Product Sales are the primary driver. The others are beer Subscription and gift Cards.
Who are Beer Cartel's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cellarmasters / Langton's, Naked Wines, BoozeBud and Tavour. Others are Mountain Culture Beer Co. and Hop Nation Brewing Co.. Broad incumbents are First Choice Liquor, Liquorland, Dan Murphy's and BWS (Beer, Wine & Spirits).
Does Beer Cartel have an API?
No public API is recorded for Beer Cartel.
What industry is Beer Cartel in?
Beer Cartel's product category is Online Craft Beer Retail. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRANABAC, Beer Retail (Bottle Shops & Beer Merchants), with a secondary code of CRANABAF, Alcohol Subscription & Wine Clubs (Retail). Its NAICS code is 445320.