80 Proof, creator and distributor of the Wet Pussy Shot, has announced the expansion of its portfolio with the recent acquisition of Boujee Wine.
Boujee was created by husband and wife duo Shane and Natalie Barrington, and started as a passion project for the pair. Shane came from years of experience across the liquor industry, including in retail, owning multiple liquor stores over the years and helping create online alcohol delivery service, Tipple.
As part of the acquisition, Shane has now joined the 80 Proof team, a move driven by the aligning values between 80 Proof and Boujee, and how both businesses have similar plans for the future.
Explaining the origins of Boujee to National Liquor News, Shane said: “Boujee is basically a new concept in wine – we call it boujee without the bullshit. Our angle is that we do all the hard work in finding the wine, we go out to all the different wineries from different regions and do deals with the winemaker direct to get really good solid wine for people that don’t want all the swank behind it.
“We wanted Boujee to be a lifestyle brand of wine, not just like everything else on the market.”
After launching in Melbourne through Tipple and some local bottle shops, Boujee saw great growth and is now stocked in over 300 stores across the country, despite not having any sales reps on the road. Seeing this success and drawing similarities to the explosive popularity of the Wet Pussy Shot, Shane said he linked up with the team behind 80 Proof and realised the opportunity of bringing the brands together.
Shane joins three other partners at 80 Proof, all of which come from different areas of the Australian liquor industry and bring different views and experiences.
“The four partners form a synergy from all different angles. We’re all just about being a bit tongue in cheek, bringing fun, innovative brands to the industry, and we’ve got some really cool stuff in the pipeline coming up,” Shane said.
“We’re this innovative, newer, funkier, younger supplier coming into the game… just stirring up the pot with these fun and crazy sort of angles on how we market and do things.”
Another core part of the 80 Proof business that Shane highlighted was how much it valued independent retailers, who have been integral to the success of its brands so far.
“We’re a brand for the independents. We’re not focused on the big boys at the moment, we care about the best market to deal with, which is with people like us – the independents that own their own bottle shops, the mum and dad and the family businesses,” Shane said.
He also hinted at what we can expect from 80 Proof along these lines, including brand collaborations with Australian musicians and a new pre mixed shot.
“We want to create a real spark in the liquor industry… we’re really stirring up the industry for people from all walks of life around Australia,” Shane said.