What The Lupulin Exchange does

The Lupulin Exchange (LEx) is a B2B online marketplace that connects commercial brewers, hop merchants, and growers for the buying and selling of hops across the United States and the European Union. Founded in 2014 by John Bryce and Shane Kunkle with approximately $4,000 in initial capital, the platform has grown to serve more than 5,000 breweries ranging from nano operations to large craft players like MillerCoors, with 9.2 million pounds of hops cumulatively transacted. The company's core product is a web-based marketplace built on standard web technologies with operational tooling including Freshdesk for customer support, Google Analytics and Microsoft Application Insights for telemetry, and Hotjar for session recording.

The platform offers several differentiated features: a cooperative buying program called CO-HOP that pools brewer purchasing power as an alternative to traditional long-term contracting; LExIndex, which provides price and inventory history data for market transparency; Hop Alerts, an email notification system for new listings matching user-specified varieties; Profile Scores, a publicly visible reputation system based on shipping speed, reliability, response time, and peer ratings; and sensory radar charts for individual lot listings. The Lupulin Exchange operates two legal entities—a Virginia LLC (LEx US) and a Belgian BV (Lupulin Exchange Europe SRL/LExE)—to handle US and EU/EEA/UK transactions respectively.

The company's business model is transaction-based, with fees paid by buyers and itemized at checkout while sellers list and sell surplus inventory at no charge. The platform has remained bootstrapped and privately held with no external venture capital or debt. It generates revenue through marketplace transaction fees, with CO-HOP structured as a contract-and-delivery model without membership, storage, or transfer fees. The company is led by founder John Bryce (full-time since 2022), co-founder Shane Kunkle (who also serves as COO at DevResults), and a lean team of approximately 4–5 individuals including two web developers, with go-to-market driven by community engagement, the Master Brewers Podcast, social media, and trade show participation rather than paid acquisition.

Name

The Lupulin Exchange

Legal name

The Lupulin Exchange, LLC

Website

https://lupulinexchange.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Lupulin Exchange is a bootstrapped B2B online marketplace connecting commercial brewers, hop merchants, and growers across the US and EU, enabling spot-market hop transactions with real-time price transparency and an invitation-only cooperative buying program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boones Mill

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Transaction Fees: Fees are paid by the buyer and itemized during checkout. Sellers pay no fees to list or sell surplus inventory. The company acts as venue and payment processor.
2. CO-HOP Program: No membership fees or costs. The offer price accepted is the exact price per pound paid upon delivery. No storage fees, transfer fees, or other charges.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Lupulin Exchange (LEx) operates a B2B online marketplace where hop merchants and growers list hops for sale and commercial brewers search, compare, and purchase across the U.S. and EU. The platform provides real-time price and inventory transparency, secure transaction processing (acting as venue and payment processor), and includes the invitation-only CO-HOP cooperative buying program, Hop Alerts, LExIndex market data, and a Profile Scores trust system.

Product overview

The Lupulin Exchange operates as a single unified B2B marketplace platform (LEx) connecting commercial brewers with hop merchants and growers. The core marketplace allows users to list, search, compare, and transact for hops with real-time price transparency and logistics. Additional services include the CO-HOP cooperative buying program (invitation-only alternative to contracting), Hop Alerts (email notifications for new listings), and LExIndex (market data/history access). The platform spans the U.S. and EU markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Lupulin Exchange (LEx) Marketplace B2B online marketplace where commercial brewers, hop merchants, and growers list, search, compare, and transact hops with real-time price, inventory, and shipping transparency. Lets users review seller ratings, shipping speeds, and reliability, with the platform acting as venue and payment processor across the US and EU markets.
• CO-HOP Program Invitation-only cooperative buying program for commercial brewers offering an alternative to traditional hop contracting. Leverages collective buying power for better pricing, with no storage fees, no transfer fees, and no membership costs; the accepted offer price is the exact per-pound price at delivery.
• Hop Alerts

Quantifiable outcome

• 92 million lbs of hops sold through the platform
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• HopsteinercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Bryce visited Hopsteiner in Mainburg, Germany in 2008 during his VLB studies. Hopsteiner is referenced as a major hop supplier partner within the CO-HOP program and marketplace ecosystem.
• Yakima Chief HopscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor hop merchant featured on the platform as a seller of branded hops including Citra and Mosaic varieties. Listed as a trusted supplier in CO-HOP program.
• Country Malt GroupcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor hop distributor with improved integration experience on the platform. Sellers can list hops from Country Malt Group storage locations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Bushel: B2B software and marketplace platform for agricultural commodity trading (grain). Comparable to LEx as a digital marketplace for physical agricultural commodities with price discovery and transaction facilitation, though serving grain rather than hops.

Direct peers

• BSG Craftbrewing: B2B supplier of brewing ingredients (hops, malt, yeast) to craft and commercial brewers. Comparable to LEx as a one-stop B2B platform for brewing ingredient sourcing, with a similar customer base but traditional distribution model.
• Yakima Chief Hops: One of the largest global hop merchants and a key LEx platform partner, supplying branded varieties like Citra and Mosaic. Directly comparable as a hop merchant with grower relationships serving commercial brewers, and the most likely strategic acquirer of LEx's marketplace infrastructure.
• Briess Malt & Ingredients: Major US maltster and brewing ingredient supplier. Comparable as a B2B ingredient platform serving commercial brewers, illustrating the broader ingredient market that LEx could expand into beyond hops.
• Hopsteiner: Major global hop merchant with operations in the US and Europe (Mainburg, Germany) and a LEx platform partner. Comparable as a vertically integrated hop merchant serving commercial breweries across the same US and EU markets.
• Crosby Hops: Independent US hop merchant with grower relationships supplying craft and commercial brewers. Comparable to LEx's marketplace sellers as a non-vertically-integrated merchant competing for the same brewer relationships.
• Country Malt Group: Major B2B distributor of brewing ingredients (hops, malt, adjuncts) and a LEx channel partner. Directly comparable as a multi-ingredient brewing supply platform serving the same brewery customers, though operating via traditional distribution rather than a marketplace model.
• Indie Hops: US-based hop merchant specializing in proprietary aroma hop varieties for craft brewers. Operates in the same US craft brewing market as LEx, sourcing from growers and selling to commercial brewers.

Others

• Indigo Ag: Large agricultural technology company with digital marketplace and grain trading operations. Indirectly comparable as a venture-backed B2B ag marketplace, illustrating both the potential scale and the competitive threat that well-funded entrants pose to a bootstrapped niche platform like LEx.
• Brewers Association: US trade association representing craft brewers. Indirectly comparable: LEx relies on the BA's Craft Brewers Conference for in-person marketing and is fundamentally tied to the health of the BA's member base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lupulinexchange
• Facebookfacebook.com/lupulinexchange

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Lupulin Exchange