The New Zealand Whisky Collection, based in Oamaru, has extended its PledgeMe crowdfund, opening up the ownership of the company to the public for longer.
The New Zealand Whisky Collection Founder, Greg Ramsay said we have exceeded our minimum crowdfund goal of $500,000 and therefore have extended the crowdfund time to Monday 17 December 2018.
“We have been hosting tastings and presentations in Australia and fielded countless enquiries from overseas. For some of those countries; particularly Singapore and the USA, we are preparing formal investor advice for offshore residents; whether they be expatriate Kiwis or foreigners. The complexity around off-shore investing into New Zealand crowdfunding has contributed to our decision to extend.”
Additionally we are delighted that after months of research, meetings and negotiations, LiquorMountain from Kyoto have been appointed our Japanese importer and distributor. They are also a leading retail chain and are ideal to give The NZ Whisky Collection brands a strong market presence and sales platform in the lead up to the All Blacks’ defence of the Rugby World Cup, followed by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
“Asia is really gaining momentum for us, probably sooner than we expected considering our focus on Europe Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Our Taiwanese importer have followed up with a larger second order with bespoke Asian labelling and this has peaked the interest of Chinese distributors. We are now in discussions with three Chinese importers. It is a market that is too large for us to tackle with limited stocks right now. However, if we can develop long term strategic partnerships to seed, supply and support the Chinese market in the medium to long-term, then we must keep talking to the world’s largest consumer population,” Greg said.
The New Zealand Whisky Collection opened their PledgeMe crowdfund at the start of November with a minimum fundraise target of $500,000 and a maximum of $2 million. The funding will allow the company to increase its production. It is sourcing ‘wash’, which is sweet beer and base of all whisky distilling, from Speights Brewery. New distillery equipment has arrived into Dunedin, and the company is going through the final stages of assessing the best location for that distillery.
The NZ Whisky Collection General Manager Grant Finn said “we have signed a lease to move our Oamaru barrel storage, bottling and cellar door to the charming old Northern Hotel. Building owner Hynds are relocating and have been very supportive of us restoring the grand old building, while re-purposing the industrial space connected to it.”
“We are in advanced stages of weighing up that property, as well as a range of others in and around Dunedin, for distilling and a whisky museum and Cellar Door” Grant said. “Dunedin has an incredibly rich distilling history. With increasing visitor numbers and cruise ships and the closure of Cadbury World we believe that a Dunedin Whisky museum and distillery destination with vibrant visitor venue could become an iconic attraction. We see Dunedin as the hub of the emerging New Zealand whisky trail, with Cardrona in Central, distilleries in Southland and our Oamaru showpiece.”
There are three share packages. Each package offers shares, an invitation to the AGM and an exclusive Open Day. Non-voting investments from $500 – $2,999 come with a 10% VIP discount card and a complimentary duo tasting set. The second tier from $3,000 – $39,999 is also non-voting and comes with a 15% VIP discount and three duo tasting sets. Investments over $40,000 receive full voting rights, a 20% discount, five duo tasting sets, and the opportunity to have venue hire fees waived to host one event per year at the Distillery. For details https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/investments/335-the-new-zealand-whisky-collection-limited
