Acquisition Cements Flaviar’s Dominant Position as the Global Leader in Beverage Alcohol e-Commerce
Grand Prairie, Texas, Dec. 6, 2023– Flaviar, Inc. announces its acquisition of Wine-Searcher, the world’s largest database of product, price and availability information across the global beverage alcohol market. After completing the acquisition of technology company Barcart earlier this year, this positions Flaviar firmly as the leading operating system for global bev-alc e-commerce, supporting all existing players in the space in their digital transformation, providing solutions for new entrants, and accelerating e-commerce adoption across the industry.
Founded in 2012, Flaviar has staked out a unique position in the fast-growing online alcohol category, providing value to consumers, retailers, and brands through its complementary business divisions. Meanwhile, Wine-Searcher, founded in 1999, has built a reputation for transparency and independence, providing value to consumers and the trade through unparalleled product information, high-quality content, and proprietary market data & research.
“This is a classic case where the sum is greater than the parts,” explains Flaviar Co-Founder and CEO Jugoslav Petkovic. “We at Flaviar are experts in spirits and e-commerce in the US and Europe, while Wine-Searcher brings unparalleled global reach, depth of wine expertise and a wealth of historic pricing and availability data. At the same time our two companies share a lot of our values, especially around independence, focus on benefits to the consumer and acting as an enabler for the industry participants to operate and improve their business.”
The acquisition adds significant new capabilities across Flaviar’s existing business divisions. Wine-Searcher’s proprietary database collects and indexes products, prices, locations, producers, and retailers into the largest and most accurate collection of drinks-related data available, boasting nearly 18 million listings from more than 33,000 vendors across 126 countries. Its database is searched nearly 300 million times per year and has earned over 5 million monthly active users.
“After nearly 25 years of building Wine-Searcher’s database, relationships and reputation I’m leaving the company in the capable hands of a wonderful team and with full confidence that with the seasoned management team and new ownership the best days are still ahead,” said Wine-Searcher Founder Martin Brown.
“Flaviar’s acquisition will allow us to keep doing what we’re good at, while adding significant new capabilities that provide consumer value, especially in facilitating e-commerce sales which is something we have never been able to do before,” said Julian Perry, Wine-Searcher CEO. “This will create more value for the many retailers with whom we work, and further enrich our data and the power of our market insights we offer the industry. Moreover, we will have more resources at our disposal to accelerate our technological development, particularly in building AI-powered services.”
In 2022 Flaviar announced a strategic partnership with RNDC, a leading beverage alcohol distributor in the US. “Our collaboration with Flaviar aims to accelerate the pace of digital transformation within the industry.” stated CEO Nicholas Mehall, “Since the inception of this partnership, we’ve amplified the value proposition and introduced innovative services to our brand partners. I’m excited to see Flaviar continue to expand its capabilities and market reach.”
“E-commerce penetration in beverage alcohol sales is still very low compared to other product categories, especially in the US, and we believe that the main reason is due to the lack of modern, consumer-friendly services in our space. We’re firm in our commitment to support partners across all 3 tiers of the US alcohol system, as well as internationally, to enable more of such services to launch and capitalize on this giant growth opportunity.” added Mr. Petkovic.
Flaviar was advised on this deal by Akur Capital. Terms were undisclosed.
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PRESS CONTACT: CURICH|WEISS
James Curich | james@curichweiss.com or Zach Groth | groth@curichweiss.com
About Republic National Distributing Company
As a top beverage alcohol distributor in the nation, RNDC’s national reach helps suppliers by building strategic relationships with on- and off-premise customers to elevate their brands and reach their target consumers. RNDC currently operates in 39 states including the District of Columbia across the United States. To learn more, visit www.rndc-usa.com or contact Kanchan Kinkade, VP, Corporate Communications at Kanchan.Achar@rndc-usa.com
About Flaviar, Inc.
Flaviar, Inc. is a global spirits company with an integrated ecosystem of consumer and business facing divisions. Flaviar owns two leading spirits marketplaces, Flaviar.com and Caskers.com facilitating nearly a million orders annually through its network of retailers across the world. Through its Barcart division, Flaviar powers DtC sales by integrating 3-tier compliant sales technology directly onto 3rd party websites and routing orders through a network of licensed retailers for fulfillment. Its agency division offers full-service consulting, content production, experiential, and performance marketing solutions. Through these verticals, Flaviar fulfills its mission of powering new ways of connecting consumers with brands and Bringing Good Spirits to Life.
About Wine Searcher
Wine-Searcher has been going since 1999 and, with offices in both NZ and UK, we aim to be your go-to resource for everything wine and spirits – wherever you are in the world. From our easy-to-use search engine, price comparison tools, and extensive database of wines and spirits, to our encyclopedia and news pages, we aim to provide all your ‘wine-finding’ needs whether consumer or trade. For the consumer – our free-to-use online search engine allows you to discover your favorite bottles at the best price near you. Our encyclopedia and news pages allow you to learn about each product, the grapes, and the regions they come from, as well as the latest happenings.
About Akur Capital
Akur Capital is a leading independent Corporate Finance and Equity Capital Markets adviser, based in London, advising clients globally in consumer, tech and real assets with a strong track record in the wine and spirits sector.