Local Flavour
Sofi Spritz is a modern Australian take on the traditional Italian wine spritz. Sofi made it's debut at the Bondi Farmer's markets in Sydney combining premium quality Australian wine with locally sourced ingredients. Two successful crowdfunding campaigns later, the delicious bottles of sparkling are being distributed nationally across Australia.
International Taste
The Italian tradition of Aperitivo provided the inspiration for Sofi Spritz. Founder Tommy Maclean, spent time travelling across Europe and wanted to share this Italian ritual with his friends back home. It soon became obvious - Australia with its abundance of natural ingredients and incredible wine experts, could produce a world class, locally sourced spritz.
"Crowdfunding proved that SOFI Spritz had market potential beyond local farmers markets and a few venues around Bondi. It gave confidence to not just me, but also to the national retailers, that SOFI could perform on the national stage... that's on top of funding the packaging improvements to get us there!"
Sofi Spritz Founder, Tom Maclean.
The Beginning
Tom dreamed of bringing something of the Italian ideal to Australia. He saw that Australia had all of the necessary local ingredients to create the bittersweet cocktail he loved.
He teamed up with Simon Gilbert, a fifth generation master wine maker, and a perfect partnership was born.
Farmers Markets loved it. Bondi was crazy about it, now the only thing left to do was get it in the hands of the people.
The First Campaign
Their first campaign raised over $11,000 from 133 supporters and kicked off development and distribution, introducing Sofi to her first wave of keen admirers. Rewards on offer included a range of Sofi Spritz products from the beverage itself to T-Shirts and picnic bags. Supporters were also given the opportunity to attend the Sofi launch party and take part in an exclusive wine tasting session with Simon Gilbert.
The Second Campaign
Post-campaign Sofi landed national distribution deals with Dan Murphys and BWS making the beverage readily available to everyone. A year later, Sofi Spritz was successfully backed in a second Pozible campaign. The campaign invited supporters to weigh in on the next incarnation of the drink. And with that, the Hugo Spritz was born thanks to a loyal group of engaged consumers keen to see Sofi grow.
The Happy Ending
Following the campaign Tom and his team appeared on Channel Ten's Shark Tank and stood before the 'Sharks' to ask them for $130k investment for 10% of the business. After several rounds of gruelling questions, Maclean had impressed the Sharks so much so that four out of the five put forward offers. Two investors both put forward $65k for 5% of the business each.