New York. Thirstie, an e-commerce and business intelligence provider for beverage alcohol brands, has added two e-commerce veterans as investors and strategic advisors: Mark Lavelle, the former CEO of Magento and SVP of Commerce at Adobe and Carsten Thoma, former president of SAP Hybris.
Founded by Devaraj Southworth and Maxim Razmakhin in 2014, as Thirstie’s e-commerce platform continues to generate substantial growth, adding both retailer and brands to the platform. In early 2020, there were less than a dozen brands using Thirstie; today there are 200 alcohol brands using the platform. Revenue quadrupled from 2019 to 2020.
“In the past year, we’ve had tremendous momentum; this growth and enthusiasm is a testament to the need for a highly-compliant ecommerce-driven data solution for alcohol brands,” stated Southworth. “Our goal is to help grow and scale these companies while changing the course of the alcohol industry. Making these strategic investments in our team and advisory board will allow us to continue to be great partners for both brands and retailers while shaping the future of the beverage alcohol space.” [Editor’s note: There is an exclusive interview with Devaraj Southworth in the July issue of Global Drinks Intel].
New Board member Carsten Thoma added: “There are many parallels between Thirstie’s approach to e-commerce and how I have approached the space with my former company. E-Commerce and digital storefronts have the ability to change the trajectory for CPG brands. However, it’s critical for businesses to find the right e-commerce partner. Devaraj and Max have figured out how to make this happen, through the development of a highly compliant vertically integrated e-commerce solution built specifically for beverage alcohol.”
In addition to strategic advisors, Thirstie has also added John Briar as VP and general manager. Prior to joining Thirstie, Briar served as managing director, Marketing Operations at Annalect, which he joined in 2019. Prior to that, he spent 16 years at Operative. Jason Dacaret has been appointed as VP of People. Dacaret was previously the chief human resources officer at REAPRA in Southeast Asia. Other recent new hires include Ryan Malik, controller, Catherine Herzog, retail development manager and Kelley McGann, marketing and communications manager.
