Cheers all round as brewer sips a trade win

Eagle Bay Brewing Co is exporting for the first time after breaking into the Singapore market with assistance from the South West Development Commission’s TradeStart program.

The SWDC delivers Austrade’s TradeStart services giving local businesses access to commercial export advice, contacts and market entry assistance.

Eagle Bay Brewing Co general manager Keith Warwick said the help given by the TradeStart team was important when trying to establish a trading partnership with a distributor to build the business’ brand in Singapore.

“Our focus initially was quite niche in that we wanted to go to Singapore. Geographical proximity and familiarity with our region and products made it a logical first step,” he said.

“We realised quite quickly the packaged opportunity was where we had to focus, and through their online channels that inventory sold almost immediately, and subsequent orders have been made of significantly more packaged items.”

SWDC chief executive Mellisa Teede encouraged local businesses to get in touch with the TradeStart team to help diversify their offering to a global market.

“As soon as a business gets in touch with us and says ‘we want to export’, TradeStart goes into action for them,” Ms Teede said.

Austrade TradeStart adviser Simon Taylor said it was “fantastic” to see Eagle Bay Brewing Co breaking ground in Singapore.

“Singapore is an excellent market for us,” he said. “Whilst there has been a lot of market segments that have shrunk dramatically, there are new avenues and channels which have opened up, so it’s about businesses tailoring their offering to suit the new channels like selling direct to the consumer.”