US-based beverage industry e-commerce and service provider Flaviar has acquired the online sales platform Speakeasy.

San Diego-headquartered Speakeasy is an e-commerce business that processes direct-to-consumer orders for beverage companies.

Established in 2015, Speakeasy’s services allow brands to sell directly to shoppers through their own online storefronts, while still staying in compliance with the three-tier distribution system in the US, which sets legal separation between alcohol producers, distributors and retailers.

“By combining our offerings under the Flaviar Checkout umbrella, brand partners will no longer be forced to choose between the different routes to market that each company offered in the US until now,” Flaviar CEO Jugoslav Petkovic said.

“While our offerings are global, we have been particularly focused on offering innovative services to bev-alc brands in the US, while championing compliance with the three-tier system through our partnerships with distributors and hundreds of retailers in our fulfillment network.”

Flaviar said that Speakeasy’s team will continue operating its fulfillment service, which will be folded into the company’s e-commerce ‘Flaviar Checkout’ services.

While initially Speakeasy focused on craft spirit brands, it has attracted larger clients to its platform, such as Tesla, which used the service to sell its Tequila, Mezcal and beer brands.

“E-commerce has room for exponential growth in the bev-alc industry and we have established ourselves as leaders in this field,” Speakeasy CEO Josh Jacobs said.

“Combined with Flaviar's business solutions, we will be able to equip our partners with the necessary tools for growth, perfectly complementing our long-term initiatives in scaling direct-to-consumer e-commerce for beverage alcohol brands.”

Founded in 2012, Flaviar operates two US consumer marketplaces, Flaviar.com and Caskers.com. It processes roughly a million orders each year, according to the company. The privately-owned Flaviar said it will process half a million orders this year, with a nine-figure gross revenue.

The group also runs Wine-Searcher, a wine-sourcing and price comparison site that indexes 19 million listings from approximately 35,000 vendors across more than 120 countries.