Dear all, it’s a pleasure to write to you once more with an update, albeit overdue. We have much to cover, so I’ll dive straight in.
2021 In Review
We are in the final throes of putting pen to paper to sign off the accounts for 2021, and whilst later than I would like, I am excited to be able to present the key notes to you now.
In 2021 we were able to maintain growth and finished the year with a turnover of £6.4m, which represents a 19% growth rate on 2020, along with £517,000 EBITDA. This was a huge achievement, in no small part down to our fantastic team, and our loyal customers who have continued to spread the Siren word far and wide through the Web Shop and Tap Yard.
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Direct to consumer sales, whilst strong, took a bit of a dip on our 2020 number, which wasn't entirely unexpected, as our trade customers came back slowly. Exports have been challenging, partly due to the pandemic, but in particular Brexit is having a very large impact on costs for our partners.
Lumina continued its strong start, and became an instant hit with the on-trade once they were able to open again. In addition to that, we have also been excited to see the response to our 4-Packs for Soundwave, initially only in Morrisons, but now available through a few retailers and our Tap Yard. We’ve added to that with 4-Packs of Lumina, Broken Dream and Yu Lu, with more to come.
We also heralded our 8th anniversary last year with The Grateful Eight, which many of you kindly joined us for. In March this year we were awarded SIBA’s Best Marketing Implementation award for the project and the event. It was truly ambitious, and something we’re very proud of. Thanks for your help!
George & Dragon
In June 2021 we took on the George & Dragon pub, which we are really excited to develop. There is so much potential, and have been slowly working away behind the scenes to get the pub to where we want to be.
A new menu has recently kicked in, and our Head Chef, Chips (he likes being called that - real name Przmslaw) is just getting stuck in to some great plans to replace the entire kitchen and set the base for us to build upon.
We have some beautiful plans to extend, renovate, and increase the parking and outdoor area, so please keep your eyes peeled. Our new General Manager, Charlie, joins the team shortly to really set the scene to help us build the best customer experience we can.
Time Hops
As you’ll all know, we are having a huge festival held on the grounds at Reading University at the end of July. This will be a great event, fantastic music, great food, and obviously great beers. We are releasing a project called Time Hops, all will be revealed shortly, but suffice to say we have worked with some of the most iconic breweries in the US to create some amazing renditions of iconic beers that have set the scene and standards for the rest of us to follow.
Make sure you can be there, you don’t want to miss out on this.
Head here for tickets - https://www.gigantic.com/project-time-hops-tickets/reading-reading-university-students-union/2022-07-30-14-00
Web Shop Updates
We’re relentlessly working on improving the experience and service you get from buying our beer online, direct from the source. I just wanted to mention a few improvements in particular that have gone live recently.
Firstly, our Site Search functionality has been dramatically upgraded. You’ll get immediate, visual results while being able to go directly to relevant categories, pages or blog posts. Check it out, it should make your life much easier.
Secondly, we have reverted back to Stripe as our payment processing gateway. Late last year we made the decision to move to Barclays, our business banking partner, who promised us better rates and equivalent or better service levels. Unfortunately, the experience on-site has not been good from a user perspective, with many transactions failing for no apparent reason. We are pleased to have everything back up and running at an industry-leading level now. Thank you for all your feedback, please do keep letting us know where we can improve.
Finally, we have some cool new gifting options. You can add a free gift message to be printed inside any order, and you can also add a recipient's email for the tracking information. On top of that, you now have the option to upgrade to a custom Siren greetings card, with a personalised message inside. Some of you took advantage of that for Father’s Day, and hopefully it will be a nice addition all year round.
Please keep your feedback coming, and continue to encourage your friends and family to check out our website. It’s hugely appreciated.
Investor Party and Updates
Last but not least, this July also sees the inaugural Siren Investor Party, delayed thus far due to covid. For all those that invested at the ‘Investor Odyssey’ level and above, you will have received your invitations by email. Please do register, it’s going to be a really cool event with plenty of opportunities for Q&A, networking, exclusive pours and some nice announcements. This also takes place at the venue for Time Hops - and we hope you join us for that the next day as well. Don’t forget to pick up a ticket if you haven’t already.
Following this, I will send out a full update on the half year in the first week in August by email.
Once again, thanks so much for your continued support, please keep on spreading the good word to all of your friends and family.
