Yeastie Boys

Six years ago we set out on a journey that saw us break the conventional models of brewing and traditional beer styles. With the support of people like you we have not only survived but thrived.



Now things are getting even more exciting, because in 2015 we are making a major play into the northern hemisphere – establishing the brewing and distribution channels that will allow us to capitalise on the demand our unique beers have generated there over the past few years.



This is a pretty big move, and we’ve had to think hard about what we want and how we wish to achieve it. We want to grow Yeastie Boys in a way that retains the ideas and energy of a start-up, but has the wisdom and manners of a learned gentleman. We want to be as excited in five years’ time as we were at day one… as we are right now. And that’s why we want you to become a part of Yeastie Boys.



Our supporters have been asking us for years if there’s a way they can help us grow. Well, now there is. We’re looking for investors, but not traditional investors who seek to buy in with their exit plan already mapped out. We’re looking for people who wonder where (and how far) we can go if we have the map to the future and no predetermined off-ramp in mind.



Equity crowdfunding is an obvious choice for Yeastie Boys. Not only will it enable the people who love our beer and believe in our capabilities to be part of Yeastie Boys’ future, it will also support Anna Guenther and the team at PledgeMe. Like us PledgeMe have disrupted the long-accepted means of business in their own industry and have been instrumental in bringing about change.



Yeastie Boys stand for change. Please come stand with us as we land in the Northern Hemisphere.



Slainte mhath

Stu and Sam

Read the online Isuu version of the offer document, or

Share Offer

We are offering a minimum of 350,000 shares (to close the offer) and up to a maximum of 500,000 shares at $1 each. This represents up to 12.5% of Yeastie Boys.



Share types include Ordinary voting shares (for parcels of 20,000 shares and above) and non voting Investor shares (parcels of less than 20,000 shares).





Rights Attaching to the Shares

Each Ordinary Share gives the holder the right to one vote at a meeting of shareholders.



However, in general, the Investor Shares do not give the holder the right to vote at meetings of shareholders. In very limited circumstances (to ensure the shareholder's core rights are protected) each Investor Share gives the holder the right to one vote. This only occurs where there is a proposal or resolution:

that will affect the rights attached to the Investor Shares

to put the company into liquidation

for the disposal of the whole, or a material part, of the property, business and undertaking of Yeastie Boys

Both the Ordinary Shares and the Investor Shares give the holders:

The right to an equal share in dividends and other distributions made by Yeastie Boys (subject to the rights of any other class of share) The right to an equal share in the distribution of surplus assets of Yeastie Boys.

The constitution sets out other terms that will apply to any shareholding in Yeastie Boys. You should read the constitution before pledging for shares.

About our Team

We’re small, lean and nimble. With just Sam and Stu directing the entire operation, and one more role coming online, we can make decisions fast and keep developing. Between us, we possess the brewing and business skills to grow.

Management & Board of Directors

Yeastie Boys’ management and Board of Directors is currently made up of our two founding fathers – Stu McKinlay and Sam Possenniskie. Stu and Sam are the yin and yang of the New Zealand beer scene, the two halves of the black-and-white cookie. If Stu is the Richard Hadlee of Yeastie Boys, appealing loudly and taking wickets, then Sam is certainly the line and length of Ewen Chatfield.

Stu McKinlay

Head Boy/Creative Director

Founder, head boy (and occasional wearer of brightly coloured pants) Stu McKinlay is

the fire-starter at Yeastie Boys. He oversees everything from the design of the beers, through the naming and conceptual design of the packaging and marketing collateral, to market development and publicity.



He’s also often picked as a spokesperson and poster boy for the craft beer scene in New

Zealand. While he has twice held roles on the executive committee of the Brewers Guild of New Zealand, Stu prefers his benevolent dictator role at Yeastie Boys.





Sam Possenniskie

Directive Creator

Founder, and occasional grower of outrageous beards, Sam Possenniskie is the rock of Yeastie Boys. For every fire started by Stu, Sam is on the lookout to see if a moderate dousing needs to take place. Sam’s 20-plus years in the banking sector, and MBA to boot, sees him perfectly schooled to oversee the finances, logistics, and commercial wheeling and dealing. He is a safe and trusted pair of hands, has a well respected palate, and is known to surprise people with fine public speaking when Stu lets him get a word in.

Advisory Board

The Yeastie Boys’ advisory board has been appointed to usher the company through the next stage of growth. They know the brand and the business model, understand what drives the company, and contribute new skill sets and ways of thinking to the mix.





(From left to right: Steve, Rachel, and Graham)

Steve Napier

Chair & Governance

Steve Napier is a full time board member with a background in share analysis and equities management. Steve has a wealth of business experience in a wide variety of industries and has served on boards ranging from the Ohope Beach Community Board to the Government Superannuation Fund Authority. Steve has worked with Yeastie Boys for 18 months, and has been a fan of their product for many years.

Rachel Taulelei

Leadership and Sustainability

Rachel Taulelei is the founder and managing director of Yellow Brick Road, co-founder of Wellington’s City Market, a leader in sustainable business and an inspirational entrepreneurial thinker. She has considerable experience on boards and trusts across the country. We chased Rachel hard for a role on our advisory board as she typifies the ideals the Yeastie Boys hold dear – values-based business (in both the economic and moral

definitions) and wider-industry focus. Rachel will also be able to help source kaimoana for the AGM. Bonus!





Graham Pearce

UK Attache and Growth Consultant

Graham Pearce is a Director at KPMG Corporate Finance in Leeds, England. He’s the wild card (and, perhaps, wild child) of the advisory board. His knowledge of craft beer skyrocketed while seconded to KPMG in Wellington in 2013/2014, resulting in his evolution to becoming a true advocate for great beer. Graham came into the fold via New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s Better By Capital programme. His skill set includes helping businesses grow via private equity, mergers and acquisitions. (We aren’t planning to acquire any craft breweries in the near future, so feel free to breathe easy.)

What we've done so far

Awards

Morton Coutts Trophy for Innovation, Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards 2011

Australasian Brewery of the Year, World of Beer 2012

Best in Class, Stouts/Porters, Brewers Guild of New Zealand Awards 2009 (Pot Kettle Black; surely the only time Three Boys Oyster Stout has ever been beaten!)

Champion Beer, Beerfest Asia, Singapore 2012 (Pot Kettle Black; #1 of 350+ beers)

Champion Beer, Hong Kong Beer Awards 2014 (Pot Kettle Black; #1 of 500+ beers)

And, just as importantly, we’ve captured the imagination of the people drinking beer:

People’s Choice at Beervana 2009 (Pot Kettle Black, #1 of 100+ beers)

Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular 2012 (Gunnamatta, #1 of 80+ breweries)

Media

We work hard with journalists across various media – brewing, business, travel and lifestyle – to ensure that our story, and that of New Zealand craft brewing in general, gets aired. We’ve received coverage in all sorts of magazines, newspapers, book and blogs, and of course on social media channels where Stu is particularly active. For a business with little marketing budget, these contacts are invaluable in spreading the Yeastie

Boys’ love.

Revenue

Growth

We’ve achieved steady growth with New Zealand production over the last six years, with only half an employee. We expect this growth to continue based on the work we’re undertaking with Federal Merchants (e.g. multi-packs, new beers, sales staff on the ground) and new export market opportunities.



For the last couple of years we have applied the brakes to export sales, as our contract brewers, Invercargill Brewery, embarked on their expansion programme to cope with our demand – now more than 50% of their total output. With their capacity now doubled and the infrastructure to expand twentyfold, we can pursue the export opportunities we’ve kept on hold.





What's next?

The United Kingdom and Europe are the focus in the short to medium term of our strategic plan, and form the cornerstone of this share offer.

Yeastie Boys’ Head Boy, Stu McKinlay, will spend up to six months in Britain to get this venture off the ground – to oversee initial brewing and promote the Yeastie Boys’ message and brand to leading craft beer influencers. After that, Yeastie Boys will be represented by a UK-based business development manager.

UK Production

With the opportunities that abound in new markets, our growth potential is not bound by the investment in stainless steel. We don’t need to – we work with brilliant breweries who have plenty of capacity, and another few in mind should we need more.



Contract brewing our beer range allows us to brew closer to market and to grow rapidly, without the lead-time of building and installing new equipment, then brewing and shipping consignments all the way to the UK.



Production in the UK reduces our cost to distributors by approximately 25% when compared to brewing in New Zealand. It also decreases minimum lead time, between order and delivery, by approximately eight weeks.



Our UK brewing partner is prominent Scottish craft brewer Brewdog – the fastest growing food and drinks manufacturer in Britain over the last three years. Their facilities will allow us to brew the same kind of beer styles we currently produce in New Zealand to the highest standard (and in very high volumes, at speed, if required).

UK Distribution

We have received significant interest from retailers and distributors in United Kingdom during the last few years. This interest increased significantly following Gunnamatta’s appearance at the Wetherspoon International Real Ale Festival in early 2014.



Yeastie Boys have been invited back to Wetherspoon International Real Ale Festival in May 2015, which will see our beer (and name) in 900 pubs across Britain. This coincides perfectly with our schedule for release of UK-brewed Yeastie Boys beer, meaning we’ll have a positive answer when people begin asking where else they can get our beer. The timing couldn’t be more bang on.

Our first shipment to Instil Drinks, an arm of Bibendum PLB, will arrive in early February. With a turnover of £300M, and genuine national reach in both the on and off-trade, Bibendum PLB are a major player in the British drinks business. They also have relationships with a vast array of regional sub-distributors across Britain. Instil Drinks’ ability to act as both importer and distributor allows us to bolster UK production with unique seasonal beers out of New Zealand.



Our beer will continue to be distributed in Scotland by A New Wave, with whom we already have a strong relationship. A distributor for the south of England has yet to be appointed.

Forecast

We aim to more than double our revenue in the first year of commencing production in UK. There is a good opportunity to raise this even higher if we engage with distributors in another European country or two.

Notes on forecasts:

Gold – Very good start, moderate growth. UK market is successful; a Scandinavian monopoly tender is won and retained; one or two other medium-to-large European market is picked up; NZ-brewed beer is picked up in a couple of other medium-to-large markets.

Silver – Solid start, moderate growth. UK market immediately hits similar volumes to New Zealand; UK brewed sales grow steadily, either through decent contracts or small-medium European markets developing.

Bronze – Slow start, moderate growth. UK market proves tougher to crack than expected; No other European markets are developed; New Zealand brewed sales continue to increase at current rates (no new medium or large markets are picked up).

Potential Returns

We aim for a future where all of our shareholders receive attractive rewards and healthy dividends, while we continue to create wonderful beers and work in this fantastic industry for the rest of our lives.

In the short term, while we're growing, the board plans to adopt a dividend policy that sees surplus income being reinvested into the company. So dividends are unlikely to be paid in the next few years.



We are, however, pragmatic. Should the opportunity present itself, we’d certainly not rule out straight capital returns if a deal arose that was too good for our shareholders to miss. This may include an initial public offering (IPO) or a trade sale (partial or full).



As you can see, we’re not just pragmatic, we’re up front and honest. You’ll find no dirty politics around Yeastie Boys.

Risks and Challenges

Risk Mitigation Cashflow

We have no fixed assets so borrowing cash isn’tas easy as it might be if we need to grow rapidly to cope with UK demand. We’re currently investigating options. This could involve another equity raise (we are able to raise up to $2m per annum via equity crowdfunding). Non-equity funding options may include equity debt funding, debt issuance, bank loans or finance companies. New Zealand or Scottish contract brewery becomes unavailable. Although unlikely, given that both breweries are well established, the loss of production in either one of our current breweries would result in the inability to produce for some period of time. Either one of these breweries could take up some (or all) of the slack created by the other one being out of production. In New Zealand we have a few back-up options that are available at relatively short notice. One or two of these could double as an interim production facility for export demand, should we be unable to produce in Scotland. Once in Britain, we will have the opportunity to find back-up options for British production. Loss of key staff: Losing either one of Sam or Stu would be a significant issue for Yeastie Boys. Both Sam and Stu can fulfill each other’s roles to the point of keeping the business running in the short to medium term. We intend to add to our strong management team over the next year, which will reduce excess workload on Stu and Sam, will allow us to concentrate on the jobs we do best, and to reduce associated risks around burnout. This will lessen the risk of losing key staff. We already have documentation of key contacts and processes around the production and distribution of our beer, so someone could undertake the operational running of the business with minimum involvement from current management. Foreign exchange volatility: Exporting from New Zealand, and funding a British brewing operation from New Zealand, means revenue/costs are affected by foreign exchange fluctuations. Our business model will somewhat offset risk itself. A lower NZ dollar aids export options by reducing our relative costs to overseas importers. In a scenario where this plays out for an extended period, we could look at producing in New Zealand and exporting while the rate remains the same. A higher NZ dollar makes the production of beer in Britain, or other markets, relatively cheaper. If this scenario plays out over an extended period, we could possibly export to other countries from Britain. Distance from our key markets: Long shipping distances to many of our existing markets is costly and, as such, we need to avoid as much as possible. We are proactively reducing this risk by brewing our beer closer to the market in which it will be sold. We are also interested in looking at this in other markets, should the quality of brewing be acceptable and the market demand high enough to justify it. Australia is already a market on our mind for this – especially with our keg beer, which are 30L one-way kegs, currently being taxed significantly higher in export kegs than 50L domestic kegs. A switch in packaging, from bottles to cans, will also reduce the shipping costs associated to our beer by up to 40%. We’re still new to the British market. While they speak the same language, and drink beer through the same orifice, there are historical intricacies and differences in British drinking culture that can only be learned in time. We are new and have a lot to learn about the emerging craft beer market in Britain, as well as the European markets we may consider dealing with. The key to mitigating risks here is to ensure we have lined up the correct route-to-market, which we are currently doing via the Kiwi Craft Beer Collective representative and the engagement with Bibendum PLB as our key distribution partner. We intend to employ similar tactics in European markets. New Zealand is still associated with low cost bland beer. There is a need to educate consumers that not all beer from New Zealand is bland, amber lager with a name that bares no real association to its actual style. We’re confident that tasting our beer, as well as those beers from the other breweries in our Kiwi craft beer collective, will change opinions. Before we can achieve this, however, we need to get the beer into the hands of people who influence and educate. There is a groundswell of craft beer savvy influencers in the UK already, who have been very excited by the presence of the small amount of beer we’ve leaked into the market. Our plan is to bolster this with events and education during London Beer Week (February) and across Spring/ Summer 2015. New Zealand doesn’t have a strong alcoholic beverage export reputation besides wine, we need to educate that there is more to New Zealand than wine. We intend to contract a business development manager in London, as a part of the long term plan of our craft beer collective. Stu intends to spend six months in Britain, while the early brews are taking place, to ensure the initial education of the Yeastie Boys brand and beer to the distribution chain, publicans/retailers and key industry influencers.

And if you haven't yet, download the offer document below.

Note from PledgeMe

We have completed a Veda check on the company and their directors, as well as a google check. There were no adverse findings.