Flaviar, Inc., the global leader in BevAlc e-commerce, acquires the leading US BevAlc e-commerce enablement provider, Speakeasy Co, to bolster its B2B offerings. The company will process over half a million orders this year with 9-figure gross revenue in the US and Europe, with further plans to expand its e-commerce offerings to more markets.
New York, NY, San Diego, CA (September 10, 2024) – Flaviar, Inc. announces the acquisition of Speakeasy Co. in a cash and stock deal. Speakeasy’s team will continue to run its unique agency and fulfillment services, which will fold into Flaviar Checkout and further complement Flaviar’s comprehensive B2B offerings, including Flaviar Ads, a digital advertising network & Flaviar Insights, a data product for the trade.
Founded in 2012, Flaviar has staked out a unique position in the fast-growing online beverage alcohol (BevAlc) category, providing value to consumers, retailers, and brands through its complementary consumer and trade facing business divisions. In the past 24 months Flaviar has already announced acquisitions of Barcart (now Flaviar Checkout) and Wine-Searcher, as well as a partnership with Shopify, bringing new services and global reach to hundreds of brand clients, including 14 of the 15 biggest BevAlc companies in the world.
Meanwhile, Speakeasy, founded in 2015, has built a reputation for its ability to create elevated e-commerce fulfillment experiences for BevAlc brands through the company’s unique order fulfillment model. Supporting over 250 partners on their platform, the company has also proven its ability to amplify BevAlc brands online through their diverse performance marketing service offerings.
Flaviar Co-Founder and CEO Jugoslav Petkovic said the merger was a “big step in further cementing our leading position in global BevAlc e-commerce”.
He said: “By combining our offerings under the Flaviar Checkout umbrella, brand partners will no longer be forced to choose between the different routes to market that each company offered in the US until now. While our offerings are global, we have been particularly focused on offering innovative services to BevAlc brands in the US, while championing compliance with the three tier system through our partnerships with distributors and hundreds of retailers in our fulfillment network.”
While Speakeasy started by focusing on helping craft spirits brands, more recently its advanced consulting and agency services have attracted big clients, who were looking for a one stop shop, such as Tesla with their Tequila, beer and Mezcal projects, WhistlePig, and Constellation.
"E-commerce has room for exponential growth in the BevAlc industry, and we have established ourselves as leaders in this field. Combined with Flaviar's business solutions, we will be able to equip our partners with the necessary tools for growth, perfectly complementing our long-term initiatives in scaling direct-to-consumer e-commerce for beverage alcohol brands,” said Josh Jacobs, Co-Founder & CEO of Speakeasy Co. “We are eager to see the impact of our combined toolsets for the stakeholders of our organizations.”
The merger adds significant new capabilities across Flaviar's existing business divisions. Consumers and brand partners alike will benefit from faster delivery and lower shipping costs immediately, while also gaining access to value-add services like engraving, incorporating brand merch, custom packaging and other ways for brands to create unique experiences for their customers.
"The two companies share a very strong focus on making their clients happy and successful, but furthermore have very similar origin stories, core company values and technology stacks, which is quite unique," stated Michael Bowen, Co-Founder and COO of Speakeasy. "By joining efforts to provide more innovative solutions and technologies, we will enhance efficiency, drive growth, and ensure that our 600 brand partners stay competitive in the evolving digital landscape."
"As the definitive market leader in BevAlc e-commerce in the US, with 9-figure annual sales, we look forward to expanding our e-commerce enablement, advertising and data offerings to address hundreds of millions of consumers from more than 120 countries who currently visit our properties, yet aren’t able to place an order" added Mr. Petkovic. “We’re well on our way to accomplish our goal of becoming a multi-billion dollar global BevAlc player.”
Press Contacts
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About Flaviar, Inc.
Flaviar pursues its mission of “Bringing Good Spirits To Life” via an integrated ecosystem of consumer and business facing products and services. With its leading consumer marketplaces, Flaviar.com and Caskers.com, it facilitates nearly a million orders annually through its network of retailers across the world. Wine-Searcher is the global leader in beverage alcohol product search, boasting nearly 19 million listings from more than 35,000 vendors across 126 countries and a database searched 300 million times each year. Flaviar For Business offers a comprehensive suite of data insights and advertising solutions along with Flaviar Checkout, powering compliant DtC sales and the exclusive app for processing alcohol payments for global e-commerce leader, Shopify.
About Speakeasy Co.
Speakeasy Co. is a technology company and e-commerce platform for the Wine & Spirits industry that processes direct-to-consumer orders for brands. The centralized fulfillment model enables brands to sell directly to consumers from their own respective online storefronts while complying with the three-tier system. Brands are given the opportunity to own their growth and user experience from beginning to end, in addition to owning their data and analytics of their target customer. Speakeasy was advised by Marc Levit from ML Advisory.
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