INVESTMENT HIGHLIGHTS
- Leading independent NZ craft brewery, with a nationally recognised brand and producing more than 740,000 litres of beer in the last 12 months.
- State-of-the-art brewing facilities, capable of brewing 4,200 litres a day and providing economies of scale for profitable growth.
- Diverse distribution and sale channels, with beer sold in more than 650 retail, off- licence and hospitality outlets throughout NZ, as well as exported to 9 countries.
- Strong projected revenue growth from $8.7m in FY21 to $17.7m in FY23, a compound annual growth rate of 43%.
- A profitable business, forecast to grow EBITDA from $1.1m in FY21 to $3.9m in FY23.
- A strong management team, with significant industry expertise and experience.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Behemoth Brewing Company Limited (Behemoth) was founded in 2013 by Andrew Childs and has grown to become a leading craft brewery with a nationally recognised brand.
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We produced more than 740,000 litres of beer in the 12 months ended 31 October 2020, with our beer sold in more than 650 retail, off-licence and hospitality outlets throughout NZ, as well as sold in 9 countries. Over the last 7 years we have created more than 250 beers, many of which have been small batch, one-off brews. We love experimenting with ingredients and creating beer big on flavour and fun, as illustrated through our branding and mascot’s, Churly, varied attire.
We have generated $4.9m of revenue in the 7 months ended 31 October 2020 and, with the busy summer months ahead, are well on track to deliver total revenues of $8.7m and an EBITDA of $1.1m for the FY21.
The key to our success has been developing a strong national brand, aligning product development with an understanding of consumer trends, building strong and diversified sales channels, creating economies of scale and building a highly skilled team.
Since closing our last capital raise, we have completed construction of Churly’s, our brewpub bar and eatery. Churly’s offers 24 rotating taps, hosting the full range of Behemoth’s beer blends, coupled with a full ‘nose-to-tail’ dining experience led by our in-house butcher Hannah Childs.
Churly’s overlooks our state-of-the-art brewery that is capable of producing up to 80% of our beer production requirements, with current plans to increase capacity to 95%. We are now in the process of moving production in-house which will reduce reliance on contract manufacturing.
We recently signed an agreement with Saigon craft brewery, Heart of Darkness, to manufacture and distribute their beers in NZ. We also continue to develop strategic partnerships with other key international brewers in order to develop new production and distribution agreements for the NZ market, we are confident of adding more overseas agreements shortly.
Craft beer continues to be one of the fastest growing alcoholic drinks categories in NZ, and much like the trend from mainstream to craft beer over the last ten years, consumers are now also seeking a more premium, handcrafted beer. With nationwide distribution and strong brand positioning, we are set to continue as a leader in the craft beer category.
Although the pandemic interrupted the launch of Churly’s, we remain confident
that our expansion into hospitality will benefit the business as a whole. We expect
the pandemic will continue to create headwinds for the industry and we have
put in place strategies to mitigate its future impact on our business. Our pivot into e-commerce during the lockdown has created a valuable sales channel, with
monthly online sales peaking at $200k in April 2020 and monthly online sales now
averaging more than 3 times the online sales derived before the lockdown.
We have refined our rolling 3-year strategic plan and defined our growth vision,
which is centered around expanding our hospitality business, leveraging our
production capability, developing new export markets and sales channels. We
believe with our focussed strategy we can sustainably grow our revenue to $17.7m
and EBITDA to $3.9m in FY23.
We are now raising between $1m and $1.8m of new growth capital, including
loan conversions of $444k, at a pre-money equity valuation of $34m.
We love creating high quality craft beer and are well positioned to capitalise on
the strength of our market position. We invite you to join us on the next stage of our
journey.
Behemoth has built a team composed of experienced industry professionals, committed to using their expertise and experience to drive growth. Each member of the team has a wealth of experience in various industries, ensuring that Behemoth is well positioned to deploy new capital effectively and execute on its strategy.
Andrew Childs
Founder, Managing Director
Andrew is the founder and managing director of Behemoth. Andrew’s passion
for great beer and entrepreneurial spirit inspired him to leave the legal profession and establish Behemoth in 2013. Andrew has led the growth of the business from a turnover of $258k in FY15 to $4.43m in FY20. Andrew manages all external aspects of the business including sales, brand direction, marketing strategy and key business relationships. Andrew’s main passion is creating new beers and developing the taste experience for its consumers. Andrew is focused on driving the overall Behemoth growth strategy which is collectively formed by the board of directors and senior management team.
Hannah Miller Childs
Operations Manager
Hannah is the operations manager, responsible for leading all hospitality operations. Hannah is a trained butcher and chef. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America, Hannah started her trade at the Paternoster Chophouse in London, before spending time working as a chef in the Alaskan wilderness and Antarctica. Hannah further developed her butchery skills in Australia, before honing those skills under a master charcuterie in Washington DC. Hannah has created an inspiring menu for Churly’s, influenced by her passion for nose-to-tail eating and American heritage. Hannah is known for having an eye for detail and is often referred to as “Behemoth’s glue”.
Roger Kerrison
Commercial Director
Roger is an industry veteran when it comes to the liquor sector, having worked
in various roles in food and beverage since the early 2000’s. Roger brings key international market expertise and has been integral to the growth of the Behemoth brand since 2017. Roger has been successful in establishing Behemoth sales channels domestically and overseas, leveraging his experience developing export channels for a number of businesses. Roger recently became an executive board member and is tasked with working with our non-executive directors to strengthen governance and ensure that the board adds value to the founders and the business.
Megan Goff
Company Accountant
Megan joined the team after 6 years as a credit manager bringing with her a wealth of knowledge in accounts receivable functions and credit control, as well as running the book-keeping for her husband’s building business. She is excellent in tracking down debtors and streamlining new credit applications which has led to a reduction in collection days.
Dan Housley
Key Account Manager / Upper North Island Sales Manager
Dan hails from the land of Pernod Ricard where sales are king and targets are high. This strong experience in the art of the deal enables him to relate to our customers while making friends at the same time. Dan leads key account management for a number of national retailers and hospitality groups, recently launching campaigns with Sky City, Liquorland and Gilmours. As a previous restaurateur himself, his expertise in on-premise sales are a valuable resource.
Andrew Graham
Southern North Island Sales Manager
Andy is a bit of a FMCG natural. He grew up working in his family’s Four Square in Taupo, before selling camera gear for one of the biggest retailers in NZ. That early start of stocking shelves and working the checkout makes him a natural fit when speaking to our Foodstuffs’ customers in Wellington. His ability to understand our customer base enables him to be a legend at finding shelf space, while his passion for customer service makes sure our keg customers know just how important they are to us.
Scott Allen
South Island Sales Manager
Scott is our most southerly employee. Scott has worked in the wine and craft beer industry for 30 years and has experience in most facets of the beverage industry
in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. Scott has worked in retail management, production and field sales in the South Island, and for the last 15 years he has called Marlborough home. Scott looks after grocery for us in the South Island, representing us in the top of the South Island alongside our distributor. We also lean on his expertise in the North Island for grocery management and compliance.
Upokoina George-Yates
Hospitality General Manager
“U” as he is most commonly called, found Behemoth through a mutual friend when his previous company decided to do a remodel. U has a strong background in hospitality, including bartending, serving and managing. U’s most recent role was General Manager of four Britomart hospitality venues, which he managed while also working closely with the Operations Manager to keep abreast of other venues. Friendly, calm, and a born people person, U not only manages Churly’s but will also slot in seamlessly to oversee our future venues.
Daniel Sedlack
Head Chef
Dan is our head Chef. Dan originated from St. Louis and moved to NZ when we were unable to find a suitable local candidate. Between his creative Instagram, filled with delicious food, and the fact that he had already applied for his visa by the time we did the Skype interview, we knew he had what it would take to lead the Churly’s kitchen. Dan’s experience working in a Kiwiana food truck, butchering whole hogs, making traditional salamis and matching food with beer make him the perfect fit.
Paddy Molloy
Head Brewer
Paddy has been part of the NZ brewing scene for over 15 years. Working his way up the brewing ladder at Hallertau Brewery, Paddy has a great working knowledge of the science and art of production brewing. Before joining Behemoth, Paddy was also the head brewer at Auckland CBD’s Sweatshop Brewpub where he honed in his recipe development and love of small batch beer refinement. He has an excellent work ethic and strives for quality in the beer he brews.
Daniel Woods
Assistant Brewer
Andrew met Dan when judging one of his homebrew beers at the National Homebrew Competition and was blown away by the quality and expression of flavour. Dan happened to be a production brewer at Independent Liquor. The cross between production experience, a love of homebrewing, and great work ethic makes Dan a valuable member of the team.
Paul Moko
Warehouse and Logistics Manager
Paul joined the team just after the first COVID lock down and was a natural part of the team within hours of starting work. His organisation skills and strong work ethic have proven to be a valuable asset. With a background in organizing large warehouses, he was able to take on ours with ease and maintain a team work environment while always pushing to get the job done.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Andrew Childs
Founder and Executive Director
Roger Kerrison
Executive Director
John McConnell, MinstD
Non-Executive
John joined the board of Behemoth in November 2019. John is a Member of
the Institute of Directors, and has had an extensive career in a number of blue-
chip corporations, including 7 years with Lion Nathan in various senior sales
and marketing roles, followed by leadership roles at ASX listed Wesfarmers and
a number of privately held companies across a variety of industries including, manufacturing, FMCG, food and beverage, hospitality, professional services and industrial distribution. John founded successful brewing-related businesses, NZ Craft Brewing Co. Ltd in 2017, and Craft Box Direct Ltd in 2019. John brings a valuable resource to Behemoth, leveraging his experience balancing long-term strategic growth priorities with immediate sales, cost and rapid change deliverables.