A pair of best friends who started their humble business in a tiny Kennards storage shed have built a multi-million dollar beer empire.
Geoff Huens, 41, and Richard Kelsey, 39, were working together in corporate jobs in market research when they saw an opening after they struggled to find a decent beer in Australia.
Operating out of a self-storage unit, the pair started online store Beer Cartel in 2009 providing drinkers access to exclusive craft beers from all over the world.
But what started as a monthly beer delivery subscription service quickly evolved from 32 to 1,000 different types of craft beers in just a matter of years.
Fast forward 12 years, the duo made a whopping $4.1 million in revenue following a huge spike in sales during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 – recording a 75 per cent growth.
Best friends Geoff Huens, 41, (left) and Richard Kelsey, 39, (right) who started their humble business in a tiny Kennards storage shed has built a multi-million dollar beer empire
After working in a tiny shed for more than a year, they opened up their first bottle shop in Artarmon on the lower north shore of Sydney (pictured together in 2013)
Long before their multi-million dollar success, the idea to start their own brand simply sparked from their shared love of ‘great beer’.
‘At the time Australia was a bit of a beer wasteland with the same boring brews found at every pub and bottle shop. Our aim was to disrupt this and make great beers accessible to everyone, everywhere,’ Richard told Daily Mail Australia.
Richard’s first ever ‘job’ out of university was a market research study for a New Zealand craft brewery, where he got paid in ‘very good beer’, which opened his eyes to the aromas, flavours and untold stories of brews from around the globe.
For Geoff, he discovered ‘amazing beers’ during a trip to Belgium where he was ‘blown away’ by the quality of brew that the country produced.
The pair – who are both dads with two kids each, met through their jobs after Geoff interviewed Richard for a position at a market research company.
The pair were working together in corporate jobs in market research when they saw an opening in the market after they struggled to find ‘good’ beer in Australia
Their start-up business started in a tiny wine storage shed at Kennards where they packed hundreds of boxes each month to send out to homes as part of a monthly beer subscription (pictured of what a cool wine storage looks like at Kennards Self Storage)
The brand used to offer takeaway growlers of beer from the keg, which is beer sold by the measure (pictured of Geoff filling a bottle)
Their start-up business began in a cramped shed where they packed hundreds of boxes each month to send out to homes as part of a monthly beer subscription.
‘It was very small. Our shed wasn’t the size of your average garage, we were about a third of that. We were based in the wine storage area of Kennards which meant that we could ensure all beer was kept temperature controlled,’ Richard said.
The pair thought a storage shed was a ‘great option’ because they didn’t want to ‘make a huge financial commitment right from the start’.
‘We chose a storage shed as it was a very cost effective way for us to dip our toes into starting a business without paying huge monthly rents
‘We chose a storage shed as it was a very cost effective way for us to dip our toes into starting a business without paying huge monthly rents,’ he said.
The pair were running the business in the small space for about a year-and-a-half before they established their first bottle shop in Artarmon on the lower north shore of Sydney, and a warehouse in 2011.
‘We were online even before Dan Murphy’s which was a great thing, but it meant the concept of buying alcohol online was unfamiliar to most,’ Richard said.
‘The store allowed us to quickly accelerate our range going from just 32 when we first started to the 1,000 different beers we have today, with new beers arriving every week.’
When the business moved into a warehouse in 2011 (pictured), there was only 32 types of beer
The business now stocks more than 1,000 different types of beer from around the world
After pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants were forced to shut their doors indefinitely in response to Covid-19, Beer Cartel provided a lifeline for craft breweries.
‘We knew that parts of our industry were doing it tough during covid so it was great to be able to support breweries by increasing the amount we were purchasing from them,’ he said.
The brand grew so fast last year, the business doubled its workforce by employing hospitality workers who had lost their jobs.
Remarkably, the business recorded an unprecedented sales jump from $2.6million in revenue in 2019 to $4.1million in 2020.
‘Our online side of the business went through the roof right from the moment Australia had its first lockdown in March,’ Richard said.
The friends decided to temporarily close their bottle shop just to keep up with the huge demand via their online store.
‘We were being absolutely pumped to the limit trying to keep up with online orders,’ Richard said.
‘The good thing was in the background we were quickly changing our processes to cope. By the time Christmas came around, which is traditionally our very busy period, it almost felt quiet – the business was just functioning perfectly.’
Every week, Beer Cartel has 1,000 options to choose from and 20 to 30 new beers being added, with many exclusive to its website and Sydney store
The brand now stocks Australia’s biggest range of craft beers – and it also has the country’s longest running beer subscription service
When the company first started, the craft beer industry was still in its infancy with a mere 100 breweries. Today, the robust scene boasts more than 700 craft breweries – all happily coexisting.
For those looking to start a business, Richard said: ‘It’s all about taking baby steps. Start small and just keep ticking things off in the background and the business will develop a momentum of its own.’
The founders of Beer Cartel are now offering Australians the opportunity to own a share in the country’s largest beer store from as little as $100.
Beer Cartel is now raising up to $1.5 million from investors through its equity crowdfunding offer with Birchal. This will be used to fund the next stage of business growth, driving refinements to its website, logistics and online offering.
‘We’ve got a bright future and can’t wait to offer people a chance to be part of it,’ Richard said.