Next Glass, the tech parent company of beer-centric social media app Untappd and online beer community and event producer Beer Advocate, announced today it has reached an agreement to acquire e-commerce platform Oznr, formerly known as CraftCellr.
“Since the inception of the platform our goal has been to help breweries engage with their consumers in a meaningful way,” Oznr co-founder and CEO Eric Thelen said in a press release. “That goal aligns perfectly with the mission of Next Glass, and it’s for that reason that we are so excited to join this team.”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Thelen, Dharmesh Patel and Colin Gray founded what was then called CraftCellr in 2017 as a mobile marketplace that connects consumers with craft breweries in their areas to purchase specialty releases and join loyalty clubs.
“We just felt like they built such a good platform that really just needed some additional reach and some go-to-market juice, and we have that,” Next Glass CEO Trace Smith told Brewbound.
The name was changed to Oznr because CraftCellr “may not align with the long-term vision of the brand,” Smith said. Oznr is a nod to Osner Drive in Atlanta, Georgia, where the founders lived when the idea for CraftCellr hatched.
“A lot of e-commerce in the alcohol space is nascent, and it’s taking shape right before us,” Smith said. “Having a new name allows us to define the direction in which that team takes the platform.”
The deal brings a consumer-facing e-commerce platform to Next Glass’s growing portfolio of beverage alcohol industry services. The company recently launched Untappd Marketplace, an online ordering portal connecting retailers to wholesalers and self-distributing breweries.
In April, Boston-based equity firm Providence Strategic Growth (PSG) invested in Next Glass and charged the company to “look for other interesting players in our space, to make acquisitions,” Smith said. A mutual friend connected Smith and Thelen, Patel and Gray.
“I was so impressed with their vision for where they felt like their platform could go in the current environment, how it can support brewers through COVID, and also on the other side of COVID, whenever that happens, and felt like there was a really good fit,” Smith said.
Similar to Untappd, which has dual audiences of drinkers who use its app to track beers they’ve had and subscribe to breweries for information about events and releases and breweries who use Untappd for Business to create menus and connect with drinkers, Oznr also targets both brewers and drinkers.
“A lot of the success is going to be adding both users and members,” Smith said. “If you have a really interesting offer, you’re going to attract and retain more consumers. And if you bring a lot of consumers, eyeballs and purchasing power under this platform, it’s going to be more attractive to brewers.”
Oznr allows drinkers to place pre-orders for special releases, purchase event tickets and join membership clubs at participating breweries, distilleries and meaderies in 18 states. Consumers pay a 3.75% transaction fee for beer releases and a 5% fee for membership clubs. Once the purchase is made, drinkers must visit the brewery to pick up the beer, but shipping services is something that Oznr may explore in the “near term,” Smith said.
“That’s something that we would like to help brewers better be able to do in a simpler fashion,” he said. “It’s highly regulated still, and you’re seeing more of it. I think that’s something that we want to get in front of.”
In February, Next Glass acquired Beer Advocate, which brought a company with a strong event management background into the fold. With in-person events on hold, the company has pivoted, hosting a virtual Untappd festival in the U.S. last June and planning one in Europe in November.
“We have some other things in the works for 2021 that we’re really excited about that are still taking shape,” Smith said.