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Cocktail Porter launched in October this year, after almost two years in the making. Northway started the business with $1 million seed funding, partly his own and partly through raising finance.
Northway says premiumisation is a big trend “that continues to gather momentum in the consumer drinks space across Australia. Consumers are drinking less but drinking better and making informed decisions about the brands they choose. This is a perfect landscape to grow Cocktail Porter as it rides the waves of consumer choice.”
There are two main Cocktail Porter products: the DIY cocktail kits can be purchased on a monthly subscription or as a one-off box and includes the ingredients and instructions a customer would need to make premium cocktails at home. The second offering is a range of 100ml, ready-to-drink cocktails. All orders are online.
“Online retail is a massive growth driver for companies across the board and so it seemed natural that we should target the space we know well,” says Northway, who has been in the hospitality industry for close to two decades and for the past seven years has been running drinks agency Sweet&Chilli. “Although the online purchase of spirits, wine and beer is now commonplace, the online cocktail space is still in its infancy.”
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He says, “if we can reach a $1million in turnover in the first 12 months that we have proven the model to have potential.”
Cocktail Porter’s target market is across Australia. “We have designed these kits so that all you have to do is grab some ice, chill the glass, gather some garnish and pop the cork.
“We wanted to create a cocktail concept that saved people from having to run from store to store finding the right bottle of alcohol, the right mixer and appropriate garnish. We send the recipe, the instructions and the ingredients.”
Does he think ‘premiumisation’ is a trend influencing Australia’s alcoholic drinks market?
“Absolutely – it’s arguably one of the biggest trends in the global drinks industry, not just Australia. We see this in the international arms of the Sweet&Chilli business.
“There is a general trend towards more health-conscious options and this is reflected in higher total value than volume growth in the drinks industry.”
Made to measure
Sydney-based bespoke fashion business Citizen Wolf is another SME tapping the on-demand quality space.
Its first product is the made-to-measure T-shirt, for which the company takes orders online as well as in store.
“Citizen Wolf uses technology to automate the process of tailoring and in doing so we bring made-to-measure clothing to the casual wardrobe,” says co-founder Zoltan Csaki.
Citizen Wolf founders Zoltan Csaki and Eric Phu.
A customer has to choose their style and fabric. “We've built an algorithm that we call ‘magic fit’ with three simple biometric inputs – height, weight, age, and for women we enter bra size as well.”
Citizen Wolf was started three years ago when co-founder Eric Phu found it difficult to get clothes tailored for himself - other than a suit - while looking for clothes that fit.
At the moment, Citizen Wolf addresses the Australian market. “We don't really sell online overseas and that's purely for the logistical reason.”
Csaki says the company continues “to refine the process at the backend. Everything is laser cut, which is kind of our secret sauce in a way because it's the cutting that's the difficult part about tailoring.”
Prices start at $59 based on fabric choice.
Citizen Wolf’s turnover for 2017-18 was under $500,000, he says. “Since starting, we have experienced consistent month-on-month growth. And this October was triple our January numbers.” He says the company is on track to double its targets this year, and “next year the targets are even more aggressive”.
“Our ambition as a brand is basically made-to-measure wardrobe staples. We have a hard line in the sand where we will never go into suiting.
“Eventually we're going to get into buttoned-down shirts. They won't necessarily be business shirts, they'd be more casual. I think the market for casual clothes is pretty under served.”
Csaki says Citizen Wolf’s customer is “an eco-conscious person. They care about the amount of finite resources that are being chewed up every year. I do think we're past the point of quantity.
“They're questioning whether or not they need that thing that they know is going to last them three washes.”
He thinks people are fundamentally starting to question the validity of the fast fashion model.
“Our market, our customer tends to be a bit older as well. They're probably 30-plus. And I think that works too, because the older we get the more sure we are of our identity and the less validation we are seeking from wearing big logos.
“Our people, they are the wolves of the world. It's built into our name. We don't sell to the ‘sheep’. We're not telling people what's cool, we're not playing the trend game, we're not playing the fashion game.
“We're not trying to make you feel bad about yourself. What we're trying to do is say, ‘You know what you want. The market’s not giving it to you, so why don't you just tell us and we'll make it’.”