Past Faria Lima: How MeuChope needs to democratize craft beer all through Brazil

For the first time here at Além da Faria Lima we will talk about beer. specifically about the MeuChopea startup from Espírito Santo that wants to strengthen the consumption of craft beers in Brazil, and in the future in other countries, through its draft beer vending machines.

Since January of this year, the founding partners Augusto Sato and Bruno Medeiros (each undertaking for 20 years) have been working with breweries in Espírito Santo and in 6 other states in the Southeast and South with the MeuChope🇧🇷 With a model focused on B2B2C and self-service, the startup makes its beer machines available in malls, convenience stores, clubs, among other places and the customer fills the beer glass quickly and conveniently.

The purchase of beer can be done by scanning the QR Code available on the equipment, with payment made by Pix, PicPay and credit card, or through the application of MeuChope, which allows you to buy credits. Through the app, the user can also find all the points that already have the company’s technology – there are 120 assets throughout Brazil, 41 of which in Espírito Santo alone.

Taking a step back, to talk about the conception of the startup, it was born, in fact, as an evolution of a business club called Mr. mustache, opened by Augusto in March/20. The idea of ​​the space, located in the Mata da Praia neighborhood, in Vitória, was to allow companies, including breweries, to hold events and exhibit their products.

The project emerged from Augusto’s experience in the events segment and from the perception that it was necessary to find ways to support the sales of craft breweries. You don’t even have to say what happened, do you? With the pandemic and isolation measures, the business ended up not working as expected. In the search for an alternative, came the idea of ​​what today is the MeuChope🇧🇷 The space even became the company’s headquarters.

“Practically 80% of the project was ready, all that was needed was to add the technology, create a different business model and scale”, says Bruno in an interview with startups🇧🇷 It didn’t take long for a little extra help (money) to give the operation a boost. In the second month of life, the MeuChope attracted BRL 5 million from American investor and entrepreneur Michael Nicklas, a partner in the management company Capital Value, who had already supported Bruno in other ventures. The deal was valued at R$ 20 million.

distribution points

To those interested in purchasing valves from MeuChope, the startup offers some plans: the free one with up to 10 faucets, with a single store and up to 10 barrels; the basic plan with up to 30 taps, plus 30 barrels and 3 stores; and the personalized plan, which is dealt with when there are partnerships.

The new business model offers all the structure and use of the brand MeuChope🇧🇷 The licensee makes an investment of R$ 30 thousand and needs to have a property, a point that will be analyzed by the company, to be a new location for the company. MeuChope🇧🇷 From there, the licensee is only responsible for his point, as all the technology and keg supply is managed by the MeuChope🇧🇷 The operation is 24h and the investor earns per litre sold.

international expansion

Since June, the MeuChope expanded its range of operations also in events, starting with commemorative events in shopping malls in Espírito Santo. In September, they held the 1st 100% autonomous event, a music festival called MeuChope Festival. It was 6 days offering craft beer from 30 breweries in 60 taps scattered around the place.

This month, they were able to present the startup at the gringa during the Web Summitin Portugal – in fact, he has already checked the Startups coverage of the event🇧🇷 as in Web Summit the sale of beer was not allowed, the startup just demonstrated to the public the system working and the dynamics of selling beer with payment in local currency. The business not only caught the attention of the public but also of some Portuguese breweries.

Well, for 2023 the plan of MeuChope is to reach 30 Brazilian cities and start international operations, starting with Europe – according to Bruno, perhaps Portugal will be the first country. Spain, Belgium and England are also in the crosshairs. To support expansion and traction, the startup is already studying a series A for next year.

With the expansion of its services to other regions of Brazil and the world, the startup aims to increase the share of craft beer in the market, which today is still around 2%.

“The big challenge is not the competition itself between the small and the big, it’s how to create an egalitarian platform. We want to democratize access to the palate, the final choice is up to the customer”, adds Bruno. With more than 100 breweries directly impacted, the MeuChope expects to end 2022 with revenue just over R$2 million.

Source: Startups