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Venture Capital News: Saucey Receives $5.4M Series A Round

2017-07-13
LOS ANGELES, CA, Saucey, the leading alcohol delivery logistics company, today announced that it has raised $5.4 million in a Series A financing round.
Bullpen Capital led the investment round with participation from existing and new investors including Blumberg Capital, Structure Capital and HashtagOne. The investment brings Saucey's total funding to $10.2 million.

The increase in capital comes on the heels of Saucey driving positive Unit Economics in all their markets, with a customer purchase frequency that outperforms the top traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.

"Saucey is the first logistics company we've encountered that's successfully unlocked profitable markets as a Seed stage delivery company," said James Conlon, Partner at Bullpen Capital. "We've seen a lot of different food and beverage delivery services, where most even at scale fail to achieve a sustainable business model. The Saucey team has not only proven to be the most efficient delivery model we've seen, but is capturing purchase frequency that far outpaces the biggest retailers in off-premise alcohol, a $113B/year industry where the largest player owns less than 10% of the market."

"We've maintained a clear and focused vision from the beginning - to transform one of the oldest, largest, and most archaic industries in the world by building a superior logistics platform which minimizes costs for retailers and offers a better shopping experience for customers," said Chris Vaughn, CEO and Co-founder of Saucey. "With more than half the alcohol consumption in the U.S. taking place in 10 markets, the win is in consolidating buying power through market penetration of key territories, starting with the biggest market, California."

Saucey combines the pricing and selection of big box retail with an easier shopping experience and the convenience of 30-minute delivery. The result is a dramatically more engaged customer with higher purchase frequency compared to traditional players. While many brick-and-mortar alcohol retailers fight to capture 4-5 visits per year per customer, the average customer on Saucey purchases at a rate closer to 23 times per year, proving shopper loyalty 4-5X what's historically seen in the industry.

Saucey differs from other alcohol delivery services, as it has built its own delivery network and logistics system, enabling faster, safer and consistent service to customers. Unlike other providers who put the burden of delivering on the liquor store itself, Saucey vets and background checks its professional couriers, giving customers peace of mind and safety, and regulators confidence that alcohol is not getting into the hands of minors.

"Saucey has professionalized the alcohol delivery industry in an unparalleled way," said Alan Jonson, former CEO of BevMo! and sitting Saucey board member. "From its custom-built ID verification process, to inventory management, offerings such as on-demand bartenders and handling of all delivery and logistics, they set the bar for retailer relationships and customer experience in this industry."

By working with the best retailers in each market, Saucey operates entire territories from just a few pickup points. This, combined with their proprietary logistics system, enables Saucey to run a highly efficient delivery platform where the average courier completes more orders per hour than on other delivery networks, and results in strong courier retention with the average courier completing more than 325 deliveries in their lifetime.

The capital will be used to further Saucey's penetration of its existing markets, continue optimizing its logistics platform and investing in expanded product offerings.

ABOUT SAUCEY:
SAUCEY is the technology platform bringing the $113B/year retail alcohol industry online. Saucey takes the greatest selection available in a city and combines it with the convenience of 30-minute delivery. By offering the easiest, fastest and most reliable way to shop for alcohol, Saucey outperforms the purchase frequency and loyalty of traditional brick n' mortar retailers by capturing more than 5X of a consumer's alcohol purchases, as well as unlocking Direct-to-consumer Marketing/Data for brands. Backed by leading institutional investors, Saucey currently serves Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Sacramento and Chicago.
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