DW8, the parent company of WineDepot and Kaddy, has announced that WineDepot team, network and operations will be brought under the Kaddy brand.
Both Kaddy and WineDepot have operated as wholesale beverage suppliers and platforms for retailers and hospitality. The merging of the two brands marks the culmination of several years of acquisitions for DW8, which has also purchased Parton Wine Distribution and Wine Delivery Australia over the past two years.
Dean Taylor, Kaddy and DW8 CEO, said: “The consolidation of our platforms and services into the Kaddy brand allows us to continue providing end-to-end services and creating an unrivalled offering for Australia’s $37.2 billion liquor market.
“This will also enable us to rapidly scale into global markets in the future.”
Rich Coombes, the Co-Founder of Kaddy, who remained a Director when DW8 purchased the brand in December 2021, shares Taylor’s sentiments.
“Since its inception, Kaddy’s main focus has been to build a best-in-class wholesale marketplace solution where liquor retailers and hospitality operators can seamlessly discover, connect and trade with producers and distributors,” Coombes said.
“Integrating our B2B marketplace into a national end-to-end fulfilment network will allow us to provide an even better experience for the wholesale beverage industry.”
Kaddy has seen rapid growth since its foundation in 2019. The brand’s marketplace features 1,300 different local and global brands and boasts more than 13,000 products. Trade buyers are said to number over 2,300, with the number growing by 150 venues a month. The brand went national in September of last year.
As part of the DW8 reshuffle, WineDepot Market’s customers will be moved to the Kaddy Marketplace by the conclusion of April of this year. WineDepot’s fulfilment operations, including Parton Wine Distribution, will be folded into the new Kaddy Fulfilment brand, which will serve both consumers, and trade customers.
Suppliers operating through WineDepot will now be centralised in the KaddyConnectplatform, with the company claiming this streamline the fulfillment process.
The combined brands will then operate in two ‘core divisions’: Kaddy Marketplace and Kaddy Fulfilment.
Additionally, DW8 plans to launch Kaddy Community, a dedicated social networking platform for the alcohol and drinks industry, with the company stating that it will provide ‘forum for like-minded industry professionals to connect and share insights, opinions, reviews and news.’
Taylor believes that this merger will allow the business to work more efficiently and reduce network congestions.
“This is a really exciting time for our team as we unify and streamline our service offering under the one Kaddy brand. I’m confident that together, we are creating an unbeatable value proposition that offers immense benefits for the entire wine and beverage industry,” said Taylor.
Coombes is equally enthused by the potential of the new Kaddy.
“Our entire team couldn’t be more excited, as it will simplify and strengthen our value proposition to our rapidly growing ecosystem of trade venues and supplier partners.”
Indeed, Coombes believes that the merger means that Kaddy is now at the forefront of the B2B liquor business, not just in Australia, but worldwide.
“There is simply no platform like it in Australia or overseas,” he concluded.