Sauce Brewing Co is raising capital to support its growth in new markets and scale the business, with Founder Mike Clarke saying the brewery is “investor ready and primed for expansion.”
Established in 2016, the brewery is looking for shareholder investment to enhance its taproom experience, spread its flavour-first philosophy to new audiences, and scale up production of its new ready-to-serve (RTS) craft cocktails.
With the craft beer market in maturation, Clarke says the brewery has put in the yard yards to get into a future-proof position, including a successful business restructuring earlier this year, reducing costs and settling ATO debts.
With the brewery set up for success, the investment will focus on the elements with the most promise, including the modernisation of the flagship Marrickville taproom, which is a key pillar of Sydney’s Inner West Ale Trail.
“Our Marrickville venue is showing year-on-year growth, despite challenging economic times, so we’re giving that venue a spruce-up, as well as looking to open additional venues, maintaining the low-cost, simple and effective operating model. This will help to expand our presence without requiring additional brewing capacity,” stated Clarke.
While Sauce Brewing found its success in craft beer, the brewery recently diversified into the RTS cocktail market to combat growth stabilisation in the beer industry, and the equity crowdfunding capital is positioned to fuel this expansion.
Twizzle Cocktails, unveiled in late 2023, has experienced average monthly sales growth of 13 per cent since launching, and investment will support sales and marketing activities.
“Twizzle Cocktails fills something of a niche in the market right now, so we have an early-mover advantage. It’s innovative and future proof. The RTS cocktail category is projected to see 12.5 per cent annual growth over the next five years,” he said.
According to Clarke, the outlook for Sauce Brewing is extremely positive.
“We have the experience, we’ve been through thick and thin and we’re still here after eight years. We have no overdue ATO debt, and one of the biggest risks to small breweries right now is large ATO debts from Covid times hanging over them.
“The benefits for shareholders, beyond owning a brewery which is pretty cool in its own right, are having the same rights to dividends and other distributions as existing shareholders,” added Clarke.
While shareholders have the opportunity to help with the growth of the business, they also benefit from a number of rewards including discount online and in the taproom, merch and drinks packs, annual shareholder party tickets and birthday gift vouchers.
The equity crowdfunding has currently raised $135,487 of the $200,000 target through 109 investors. The offer closes on Tuesday 9 July, and more information can be found here.