Heineken-owned direct to consumer beer seller Beerwulf is launching a marketplace model with the ambition to become the “leading B2C online beer platform in Europe”.
Beerwulf – an online shop since 2017 in 10 European countries including the UK – launched its new marketplace model in the Netherlands this week. It allows customers there to build and pay for a single basket of beers from both Beerwulf and multiple third-party sellers listing on the site.
The company, which launched in the UK from a warehouse near Birmingham in 2018, will roll out the marketplace in the UK next year.
Through the marketplace, Beerwulf said it expected to bring a broader but highly curated assortment of beers to consumers and work with third-party sellers of all sizes, including established beer sellers and small-scale breweries. With these third-party sellers, Beerwulf also plans to grow its offering beyond beer to include product categories such as glassware, bar accessories and snacks.
“Joining forces with high-quality third-party sellers enables us to quickly add new products to our assortment and even new adjacent product categories with the click of a button,” said Cindy Tervoort, CEO at Beerwulf.
“It also minimises the need for additional stock management on our side,” she added.
Like several other retailers launching as marketplaces, Beerwulf has partnered with marketplace software company Mirakl on the launch.
Earlier this week, with Mirakl, Superdrug launched its third-party online marketplace with some 300 health & beauty brands signed up to the platform, doubling the number of products available on Superdrug.com. Boots is set to launch a similar online marketplace in spring 2023, as part of plans announced in September, and foodservice wholesaler Turner Price did so last year.
“We are delighted that, with our support, the Beerwulf Marketplace launches today after only four months in the making, and is now on track to offer the broadest curated beer assortment for consumers in Europe,” said Sophie Marchessou, executive vice president customer success B2C at Mirakl.
“Beerwulf is a pioneer. They understand the reality – that two-thirds of consumers prefer e-commerce sites with online marketplaces – and are responding to that demand.”
Mirakl said that for some of Beerwulf’s third-party sellers, the marketplace would “function as an additional, new sales channel, offering them a welcome opportunity to diversify their online sales”. For others, “it provides the infrastructure to open their first direct-to-consumer channel without the hassle and cost of building their own online shop”.
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