Long-standing Fagan & Whalley customer Berczy wows Dragon’s Den panel

Helping Berczy with their quest to bring about the New Age in alcohol, we were excited to welcome the start-up on board as a warehousing and distribution client back in 2020. Since then, the company has gone from strength to strength, with sales figures bolstered by the team’s recent appearance on Dragon’s Den. 

“It’s been a pleasure to work alongside the team at Berczy for the last couple of years, and to be able to watch as their company has developed,” says Matt Giles, Head of Warehousing here at F&W. “The F&W team has enjoyed managing the B2C output of their products, picking, packing and fulfilling internet orders to deliver their e-commerce function. 

“The team really enjoyed watching the directors - Nick Graham and Nick Johnson - appear on Dragon’s Den recently, and we were all rooting for them. Whilst none of the Dragon’s decided to take on the investment opportunity, both Nicks clearly managed to make a very positive impression on the viewing public, as in the days that followed the episode airing, we recorded an 8700% increase in sales coming through the website. As a result, we had to remain very responsive, adapting our staffing and bringing in additional team members to ensure we could continue to deliver our warehousing and distribution services for them.”

“It was an incredible experience, and one that we will never forget,” says Nick Graham, Co-Director of Berczy. “We couldn’t have been happier with the feedback. The reception from new and current customers has been incredible; the days following the episode have been challenging, as we’ve worked hard to keep up with the extra demand, but I guess that’s a great problem to have!

“We are now calling on the UK’s biggest retailers to get Berczy into their stores, as there is clearly a customer demand for Berczy, and the feedback from the Dragons puts us in a fantastic position to become the best-known brand in the category.” 

In the Den, the directors outlined the company’s plans to become the first hard seltzer brand in the UK to expand into the US market. Despite missing out on investment from the Dragons, the team has since managed to raise an additional £400,000 from five new angel investors to help them make their dream a reality. 

“Our US launch will be a huge part of our strategy for 2022, and we are so thankful to our new investors for joining us on this journey. We will be the first brand from the UK in our category to make the move across the pond, so it’s a huge opportunity,” says Berczy co-director, Nick Johnson. 

“When we first welcomed Berczy on board, we all remarked at how much potential there was for the brand to develop, expand and succeed, and it’s great to see that’s now happening for them,” says F&W business strategy director, Sam Fagan. “As a company that’s proud to be independent, with a strong British heritage like our own, it’s a pleasure to support them, and we can’t wait to see just how big they will be!” 

Dragon's Den Image credit: LinkedIn Post