Melbourne based non-alcoholic brewer Monceau Co. secured the backing of industry heavyweights in its seed funding round, raising $850,000 to fund expansion, NPD, and a hospitality venue.
In Monceau's first round, prominent investors and industry professionals including Never Never Distillery’s George Georgiadis and David Burson from Canva backed the company.
The capital raise will accelerate the business’s growth and expansion plans including the launch in July 2022 of a larger scale brewery on Barkly Street, Brunswick. The brewery will also open to the public as a cellar door and hospitality venue.
Monceau Co. produces its flagship eponymous brand, Monceau, a range of non-alc sparkling wine and cider alternatives, as well as Parc Pilsner, a non-alc beer. Monceau is also launching a functional beverage in July.
Monceau Co. founder Alan Caras said there was a growing appetite for complex and innovative non-alcoholic beverages.
“Demand for Monceau and Parc this summer pushed us beyond the limits of our current brewery. We’ve taken a larger space in Brunswick that will allow us to scale up, as well as invite the public in to see our unique fermentation processes,” said Caras.
Their products are featured throughout Melbourne’s restaurant scene, including at Andrew McConnell’s Cumulus Inc., Marion and Builders Arms, NOMAD, ST ALi, and wine purveyors and grocers: Blackhearts & Sparrows, Spring Street Grocer and McCoppins.
Co-owner Rowan McNaught said both Monceau and Parc had connected with consumers in a powerful way.
“We’ve found there to be this fierce loyalty and passion for our products. Our mission through 2022 and 2023 is to grow our distribution, and make both Monceau and Parc accessible in wine shops and restaurants around the country,” said McNaught.
The Monceau product has found success as an ultra low-alcohol replacement for sparkling wine. The production process utilises wine-making methods, while substituting in a kombucha yeast strain that naturally limits alcohol.
Monceau crosses over three major health-related beverage trends: adult non-alc, functional/probiotics, and low sugar, while Parc is both non-alcoholic and sugar free, tapping into the burgeoning growth in consumers seeking healthier drinking habits.
“We started Monceau to create something more interesting than a lemon, lime & bitters, something sophisticated that fits into the wine and beer occasion.
“We still wanted to have fun and to engage with food and events in the same way; we just wanted to drink less alcohol,” said Caras.
