TapRm raises $1.5 million for beer e-commerce and distribution

TapRm is a full-stack beer distribution platform designed specifically to solve the unmet needs of breweries, retailers and consumers. The company combines licensed verticals to launch e-commerce-focused brands in new markets as distributor, retailer, e-commerce store and delivery courier, and then the company shares customer data back to the brands to enable them to make better decisions.

TapRm recently announced it has raised $1.5 million to expand its business. The Broe Group, a privately owned, multibillion-dollar value investment group with diversified holdings in 37 North American states and provinces, led the round, and VU Venture Partners, Branded Strategic Hospitality and others joined.

While up to 25 percent of consumer-packaged goods are sold online, only 0.2 percent of beer is — thanks to heavy federal and state regulations. Harvard-trained lawyer and TapRm CEO, Jason Sherman, discovered a way forward. The company represents brands in New York City, distributing to more than 600 bars, restaurants and supermarkets. TapRm also sells those brands directly to consumers through its online marketplace, a first for a beer distributor in the United States.

“Regulations have restricted consumer choice for decades, but TapRm provides the platform to disrupt an enormous industry that will benefit from the power of free choice,” said Greg Gallagher, chief investment officer at The Broe Group. “This investment will accelerate TapRm’s continued adoption among breweries, retailers and consumers.”

TapRm has exclusive arrangements with most of their brand partners; 97 percent of the brands sold on TapRm are unavailable online anywhere else. And the company shares customer and trend data with its brand and retail partners, so they can learn what’s working immediately.

“By going direct to consumer, we give smaller brands big reach,” said Sherman. “And because we’re a full-stack distributor unlike other alcohol delivery startups, we’re able to capture more margin, and pass the savings back to our brands and their consumers. We’re pleased that The Broe Group and others see the value we’ve been able to create, and we look forward to working with them to expand.”