Huboo has revealed how AU Vodka, one of the UK’s fastest-growing privately-held companies, has used its eCommerce fulfilment platform to scale its growth. Jordan Major, Head of eCommerce at Au Vodka, commented, “We’ve become the fastest-growing alcohol brand in eCommerce, and Huboo has played an important part in this growth story. Initially, we were trying to cope with the fulfilment load in-house, but we found ourselves limited by what we could offer, and it was becoming difficult to keep our customers happy.”
AU Vodka is a manufacturer and distributor of ultra-premium vodka. It is easily recognisable from its signature gold bottle. Founded in 2015, by Jackson Quinn and Charlie Morgan. In FY 2021-22, the company turned over £43.9 million, a 457% increase over 2 years. The figures earned them the UK’s fastest-growing privately-held company, led by its founders by the For Entrepreneurs, By Entrepreneurs Growth 100 list.
Huboo will now help AU Vodka expand abroad, and it intends to launch in the US shortly after seeing success exporting to Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain.
Au Vodka fulfils D2C market demand with Huboo.
During the pandemic, the firm focused on the direct-to-consumer market and turned to Huboo to achieve success. Huboo already delivers nearly 2.5 million items monthly for more than 1,500 businesses, from startups to global enterprises. Huboo is responsible for picking, packing and shipping to one in five UK Households supporting integrations to platforms such as Amazon, Etsy, TikTok and Shopify. AU Vodka uses Shopify and takes advantage of the standard integration that Huboo offers.
Major said, “We were quick to spot this gap in the direct-to-consumer market and have seen amazing results targeting Millennials and Gen Z who much prefer eCommerce to in-store shopping. Initially, we were trying to cope with the fulfilment load in-house, but we found ourselves limited by what we could offer and it was becoming difficult to keep our customers happy.
“With Huboo’s help, we can switch off from day-to-day logistics and focus on market domination! Our model makes it much easier to expand our product lines and reach, learning from a wealth of digital customer data to drive future product innovation, safe in the knowledge that whatever we come up with next, Huboo will be able to fulfil it.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
Vodka AU is an example of a startup that can find a niche in the competitive drinks industry, competing with the giants. Underpinning its brand is amazing product and excellent technology. Huboo is suitable for small businesses as they scale to enterprise businesses that have more complex requirements.
Claire Gates, Chief Commercial Officer of Huboo, said, “Major alcohol brands have been surprisingly late to embrace direct-to-consumer eCommerce, despite the pandemic and continued rise of online shopping leading to a boom in home consumption. Their loss is AU Vodka’s gain. The brand has quickly become an example of best-practice direct-to-consumer marketing, with a large number of all products sold directly via the company’s website.
“With competition ever increasing in the premium alcohol market, providing exceptional customer experience is essential for AU Vodka to sustain its success. As the brand continues its fast-growth global journey, we’re pleased to be able to support it meet every order and delight customers with service that consistently exceeds expectations.”
