Challenge

A subsidiary of Heineken, Beerwulf aims to provide everything needed to enjoy beer at home – from a wide selection of curated craft beers and well-known lagers to high quality home draught machines. After a shift in customer demand in the post-COVID e-commerce world, Beerwulf has had to adapt its marketing efforts to attract new customers and retain the loyalty of existing customers.

With the cost of living rising, people are often opting to host game nights and watch sport at home instead of going out to pubs and restaurants. As a result, Beerwulf has sold more of its home draught systems. And with a passion for supporting craft breweries, Beerwulf’s craft beer marketplace not only serves changing customer preferences but also allows small, local breweries to benefit from Beerwulf’s market reach and infrastructure.

Now operating in 10 markets across the EU and the UK with plans for further international expansion, Beerwulf needed a payments partner to expedite growth, particularly in providing a completely frictionless checkout process while minimising fraud risks.

Solution

Beerwulf turned to Stripe as a known leader in the marketplace offering. Using Connect, Beerwulf was able to build its marketplace in under two months, giving customers the ability to pay with their preferred payment method. For example, iDEAL is a popular Netherlands-based payment method, while most customers in the UK rely on credit cards. “Being able to adapt to our customers has had a great impact on our sales and customer loyalty,” says Catherine Safaya, chief financial officer of Beerwulf.

Even more important, Stripe helps fight fraud. Stripe Radar, which detects and blocks fraud using machine learning, provides the ideal balance of keeping fraud rates as low as possible while maximising Beerwulf’s payment acceptance rates. “I rely on Stripe to block fraud before it happens, and use the early warning and dispute management capabilities to respond quickly to suspect behaviour,” Safaya says.

Results

Today, Stripe enables Beerwulf to maintain its outstanding service, from user experience with online payments to the final stage of home delivery. Beerwulf’s team also relies on Stripe to stay updated on payment trends across its markets, so the company can make informed decisions about which solutions to implement.

Because Beerwulf was so impressed with Stripe Connect’s performance and innovation, it decided to move its entire volume to Stripe. Beerwulf now uses Stripe to manage all its payment needs – from online payments to its subscription platform, which offers draught beer on tap at home via a monthly subscription that delivers a selection of beer each month.