overview
After co-owning another brewery, Dave Padden decided it was time to take on his own brewing adventure: Akasha Brewing Company. The Sydney-based brewery distributes to every state in Australia except the Northern Territory and delivers to metropolitan Sydney. The brewery specializes in IPAs, something Dave first encountered on business trips to the West Coast of the United States in his past life as an IT salesperson. The brewery has grown tremendously since first welcoming customers in 2015, now producing 3.5k bbl per year.
challenge
In the “Land Down Under,” options for software to manage a brewery are limited. But Dave knew he needed a software solution for his brewery — he’s done the spreadsheets thing before, and he knew that was a recipe for disaster. He also had some concerns that working with a software company in another country would mean that communication could be challenging and customer support could be lacking.
results
Ekos’s commitment to excellent customer service and transparent data have helped Akasha achieve its plans to grow 30%-40% each year.
Creating visibility across the business is just one way Akasha is crafting success at the brewery. That means that sharing data is essential — employees want to understand how they can make a better beer and expand Akasha’s brand across the country, or as Dave says, “more beers in more hands.” Behind the scenes, Akasha displays a myriad of technical and sales data on TVs in the brewery’s office. This helps Dave see key business metrics at a glance, including what’s in the tanks. Plus, it allows the team to stay in the know and collaborate. “We’re constantly using that data in conversations to make important decisions and spot surprises early,” Dave said.
Dave loves the personalized customer service he and his team receive from Ekos. He says it would be easy for Akasha to slip through the cracks when they’re 14 hours ahead of the Ekos team; however, that just isn’t the case here. “It would be quite easy for us to get forgotten on the other side of the world, but Ekos’s focus on customer service has been excellent,” Dave said. The Akasha team knows that they can submit requests by the end of their day and there is always, without fail, a response from the Ekos Tech Support or Customer Success team by the time Dave and his team sign on again in the morning.
The brewery is really looking forward to expanding and believes Ekos is an integral part of their growth. From opening new locations to upgrading their brewhouse and focusing on research and development for new products, Dave’s sights are set high. “We have a strong vision to be a lot bigger than we are now, so managing growth is hard. Having a system that will scale with us is important, and we’re confident that Ekos will scale with us,” Dave said.
Take a tour to see how Ekos can help your business just like Akasha Brewing Company.
