The brews have built up a popular local following since launching five years ago, but also seen interest from abroad (8% of its investors in Curious Drink’s crowdfunding campaign come from overseas). The business already exports to Europe, but Hong Kong, Singapore, the US and Australia are among opportunities for the future.
Thompson believes that, despite a craft market flooded with ‘endless quirky labels and hugely hopped beers,’ there will always be room for balanced, distinctive and refreshing lagers.
New brewery
Curious Drinks is the beer and cider business of Chapel Down, a winery founded 14 years ago in south-east England, and which now supplies Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and the Royal Opera House among others. The winery is one of the UK government’s top 50 British food and drink producers and identified as a ‘CoolBrand 2015/16’.
Curious Drinks was launched in 2011, taking the company’s philosophy and wine making experience into beer and cider. Its products include Curious Brew, Curious IPA, Curious Porter and Curious Apple (cider).
The brewer now has national listings in Majestic and Waitrose and is available in Hilton and Marriott hotels.
Curious Drinks prides itself on offering something different to “flavor-free fizz that has the aroma of market research and the flavor of corporate cardboard.”
Curious Drinks launched its Seedrs equity crowdfunding campaign in October 2015 with a £1m ($1.4m) target. It has now raised a total of £1.7m ($2.4m) from 895 investors, exceeding its target by 71%.
The funds will be used to construct a new brewery and visitor attraction in Ashford, Kent, a location with good transport links to London and the continent. Construction is expected to begin this summer, with the brewery operational by spring next year.
“The new brewery will provide us with greater control of the brewing process and increase efficiencies,” explained Thompson.
“More importantly, it will enable us to get closer to our customers by inviting them to visit and to experience Curious first-hand. The brewery will be as much a hospitality center as a fully functioning brewery.”
The funds will also be used to strengthen the Curious Drinks team, further develop the brand, and enhance its domestic and international routes to market.
Craft, but different
Curious Drinks says its point of differentiation comes from its experience in wine: “beer made by winemakers using a winemaker’s approach.”
As the brewer’s crowdfunding campaign puts it: “Great beer isn’t about cramming in massive amounts of hops. Any fool can do that, call it epic and awesome, and some hipster will drink it. Once.
“We believe great beer should be like great wine, where the focus is on letting the ingredients sing. We as wine makers make beer with balance and style, that consumers want to drink again and again.”
UK craft beer
In the US craft beer makes up 12% of the total beer market. Yet in the UK, craft beer only makes up 2.5% of the total beer market – and ‘still has a long long way yet to go,’ says Thompson.
Thompson says that while US craft beer has led the way for the sector, there is still some uncertainty among consumers as to what ‘craft’ means and they are always looking for something new.
“Consumers may become disillusioned or bored by the endless quirky labels and hugely hopped beers of the ‘craft’ sector. There's always been and always will be a market for beautifully balanced distinctive and refreshing lagers,” he said.
“I strongly believe that success comes from having a real and protectable point of difference. I believe that there’s no point in simply being the best, you have to be the only people who can do what you do.
“We apply this ethos to every part of our business and we believe our Curious beers are a great example of this.”
Expanding overseas: ‘It’s all about finding the right partners’
Thompson says that Curious Brew can ‘conquer the world’ – but what does success look like to him?
“Over the past two years, we have experienced 313% growth in revenue and have only just scratched the surface,” he said.
“With our new shareholders, we would like to see Curious Brew being served in each of their local pubs to ensure they, along with our wider customer base, can enjoy our beers at every opportunity.”
International markets are another opportunity for the brewery, which could include the US in the future, he added.
“Our recent crowdfunding campaign has demonstrated the international interest with 8% of investors from overseas. We currently export to a number of European countries - Denmark, Sweden, Netherlands, France and Italy for example - and will look to grow this over the next five years.
“We are also exploring Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore. It's a huge and competitive market in the US, but if we find the right partner it could be very exciting. We are also looking at partners in Australia. It's all about finding the right partners.”
Welcoming visitors
Curious Drinks has gained a strong following, evident in the success of the crowdfunding campaign. A visitor attraction will be part of the new brewery.
“The Chapel Down winery has demonstrated to us the importance of welcoming visitors to our home, at Chapel Down we welcome over 50,000 visitors each year and we hope to replicate this with our Curious brewery,” said Thompson.
“Whether it is a customer simply popping in for a drink at the bar, or staying for the day and enjoying a tour, they are immersing themselves in the brand through the sights, smells, tastes and interactions that they experience.
“Interestingly, our Curious customers are a slightly different demographic to those of our Chapel Down wines. However, they both share an interest in quality products with strong provenance. They are ‘early adopters’ who are keen to try something new and who will wax lyrical to their friends.
"Although customer engagement has been important to building brand loyalty, we try to get our beers in to the hands of consumers at every opportunity as it is invariably the taste that wins them over.”