AU Vodka has partnered with ecommerce fulfilment company Huboo as it continues to capitalise on the alcohol sector’s untapped direct-to-consumer market.
The sought-after British vodka brand celebrated for its signature golden bottles is working with Huboo to meet huge online demand and further accelerate its fast-growth global journey which began in 2015 when the company was founded by friends Jackson Quinn and Charlie Morgan. The business has since gone from strength to strength with £40m in annual sales, a successful launch into Europe, and an upcoming venture into the US.
Earlier this year, it was named the UK’s fastest-growing privately-held company led by its founders by the For Entrepreneurs, By Entrepreneurs Growth 100 list, having seen turnover jump by a compound annual growth rate of 457 per cent over the past two financial years.
While the pandemic boosted home consumption, many other alcohol brands have been late to embrace direct-to-consumer eCommerce. In contrast, a large number of AU Vodka’s products are sold and delivered directly thanks to Huboo, which delivers nearly 2.5 million items a month for more than 1,500 businesses, from pioneering startups and fast-growth scaleups such as AU Vodka to multinational giants like Nestlé and Porsche.
The online fulfilment powerhouse picks, packs and ships to one in five UK households today and stores a further 18 million items across over 700,000 sq. ft of global warehouse space, with its software able to integrate with eCommerce channels and marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, TikTok and Shopify.
Jordan Major, Head of eCommerce at AU Vodka, 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.”
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.”
