• Kaddy co-founders Mike Abbott and Rich Coombes. The business was acquired by WineDepot's parent company DW8 in 2021, with the combined businesses called Kaddy. Abbott joined the DW8 board and Coombes was head of Commercial.
    Kaddy co-founders Mike Abbott and Rich Coombes. The business was acquired by WineDepot's parent company DW8 in 2021, with the combined businesses called Kaddy. Abbott joined the DW8 board and Coombes was head of Commercial.
  • WineDepot founder and CEO Dean Taylor. 
WineDepot will acquire digital B2B alcohol beverage business Kaddy, merging the two into Australia’s largest alcohol-focused cloud-based logistics and marketplace platform. 
Kaddy co-founder Mike Abbott will join the DWV board and head the platforms division of the combined WineDepot/Kaddy business. Kaddy’s other co-founder Rich Coombes will join as head of Commercial. Taylor will remain CEO of the combined entity.
    WineDepot founder and CEO Dean Taylor. WineDepot will acquire digital B2B alcohol beverage business Kaddy, merging the two into Australia’s largest alcohol-focused cloud-based logistics and marketplace platform. Kaddy co-founder Mike Abbott will join the DWV board and head the platforms division of the combined WineDepot/Kaddy business. Kaddy’s other co-founder Rich Coombes will join as head of Commercial. Taylor will remain CEO of the combined entity.
Close×

WineDepot will acquire digital B2B alcohol beverage business Kaddy, merging the two into Australia’s largest alcohol-focused cloud-based logistics and marketplace platform.

WineDepot’s parent company is ASX-listed Digital Wine Ventures (ASX code: DW8). DW8 has raised $12.75 million via a placement to institutional and sophisticated investors and announced its existing 10,000+ retail investors will be invited to participate in the capital raise through a $2 million share purchase plan (SPP) on the same terms.

Other investors include the founders of Four Pillars Distillery and Urban Purveyor Group founder and restaurant entrepreneur John Szangolies. Szangolies was an investor in Kaddy’s $3.5 million funding raise in June 2020, which went to enhancing its platform capabilities, hiring, and interstate expansion.

Subject to DW8 shareholder approval, Kaddy shareholders will receive total consideration of $6.75 million in cash and 484.9 million in shares. Approximately $5.3m of the funds raised will be used to accelerate the expansion of Kaddy’s B2B marketplace.

As it stands, the current pre-merger combined annualised run rate of revenue is roughly $21 million and estimated annualised Gross Marketplace Value of the marketplace business is $18 million.

WineDepot CEO and founder Dean Taylor said merging the two would “substantially accelerate” WineDepot’s growth trajectory.

Taylor said: “Our vision to bring about the digital transformation of the alcohol beverages market has always been predicated on our ability to create an integrated technology platform that the industry can use to connect, simplify, deliver and share the value released. A platform that incorporates the next generation B2B marketplace supported by a logistics, order management and payment solution, allowing our ecosystem of suppliers to service their own customers.”

Kaddy co-founder Mike Abbott will join the DW8 board and head the platforms division of the combined WineDepot/Kaddy business. Kaddy’s other co-founder Rich Coombes will join as head of Commercial. Taylor will remain CEO of the combined entity.

Abbott and Coombes bring a high calibre of experience to the newly merged entity. Friends since high school, Coombes co-founded Batlow Cider and Capital Brewing, while Abbott was previously the co-founder of Uber in Australia.

“This merger represents a quantum leap forward in delivering our vision and providing the ability to scale rapidly, both here in Australia and in overseas markets. We’re so excited to be joining forces with Mike, Rich and the rest of the Kaddy team. We have watched the Kaddy team grow over the last two and a half years and it’s become evident that they have built a market-leading B2B beverage marketplace that has been embraced by the industry,” Taylor said.

Kaddy and WineDepot both launched in 2019, rising to prominence in their respective markets. While WineDepot developed an integrated trading, logistics and payment management technology platform, operating for the wine industry, Kaddy was following a similar trajectory for the craft beer, spirits, cider, and seltzer sectors.

Kaddy co-founders Mike Abbott and Rich Coombes. 
WineDepot will acquire digital B2B alcohol beverage business Kaddy, merging the two into Australia’s largest alcohol-focused cloud-based logistics and marketplace platform. 
Kaddy co-founder Mike Abbott will join the DWV board and head the platforms division of the combined WineDepot/Kaddy business. Kaddy’s other co-founder Rich Coombes will join as head of Commercial. Taylor will remain CEO of the combined entity.
Kaddy co-founders Mike Abbott and Rich Coombes.

Together, the combined operation will have more than 1900 buyers across the on- and off-premises segments, along with roughly 1000 suppliers of alcoholic beverages accounting for more than 10,000 products.

Abbott said: “Our whole team is pumped to be joining forces with WineDepot. For our existing customers, it will allow them to immediately enjoy even greater value across a wider range of products on the same order, invoice, and delivery, and that’s only the start of what promises to be a real revolution in the wholesale beverage industry.”

Taylor said the main benefits for buyers would be greater choice through a much broader range of products and suppliers, lower costs, improved convenience, and a superior fulfilment experience thanks to the two businesses’ integration.

“The depth, variety and diversity of our combined product range will be impressive, with a strong differentiating focus on craft, independent, boutique, and emerging brands not currently available through mainstream distribution.

“For suppliers, we’ll deliver access to an increased pool of qualified buyers, lower customer acquisition costs, seamless entry to new markets and simplification of back-office functions, including invoicing and guaranteed payments.

“The technology deployed by each company can be easily and quickly integrated to unlock synergies that benefit suppliers, retailers and distributors alike, a process that we anticipate will start releasing value within a few months,” Taylor said.

DW8 will seek shareholder approval to change the holding company’s name at the upcoming annual general meeting to reflect the fact that its total addressable market now goes well beyond just wine.

Packaging News

Earlier this month PKN published an article that voiced industry concern over the speculation that Qenos might be closing its polymer manufacturing plants in Australia. Qenos has remained silent on the matter. The MD of Qenos customer Impact International, Aleks Lajovic, wants some answers.

Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, is the proud recipient of eight FPA Awards for innovative and sustainable contributions to the industry.

An impressive number of quality entries into the inaugural Hive Awards created a highly competitive line-up for judges to consider. The packaging category was one of the most strongly contested.