Balter Top Australia's Biggest Craft Beer Survey
Reports the 2019 results and identifies Rich Kelsey as a driving force behind the survey. He comments on changes in craft beer preferences.
Richard quoted
I Built Australia's #1 Craft Beer Store From a Storage Shed.
16 years. 7-figure revenue. Successful exit. I’m Richard Kelsey. I built Beer Cartel from a storage shed into Australia’s #1 online craft beer retailer, and now I help other Australian online retailers grow their stores and put AI to work where it pays. Start with a coffee and a talk about your store.
7-Fig
Revenue Built from $0
150K+
Customer Database
1M+
Beers Sold Online
3×
Top 50 AU Ecommerce
Available for Consulting
How I Help Online Retailers
I work with Australian online retailers who want experienced eyes on their store. Sometimes that is a fixed-price audit. Sometimes it is a two-week AI sprint or a couple of days a month of ongoing advice. I’m available for consulting, or a full or part time engagement where the fit is right.
- Ecommerce growth audits: one store, one report, a clear list of what to fix first
- AI strategy: where AI saves time or makes money in a retailer, and where it does not
- AI search readiness: how ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI answers see your store
- Platform, email and paid media reviews from someone who has run all three
- Platform migration planning from someone who has done five
- Fractional Head of Ecommerce support, two days a month
Let's Have a Coffee
The best work usually starts with a conversation. 30 minutes, in person or virtual, to talk through your store and what you are trying to do.
Sydney CBD
North Shore
Video call
Book a Time
No commitment. No pitch. Just a good conversation.
Richard Kelsey
BCom, PGDipBA · Sydney, AU
About Richard
In 2009, I co-founded Beer Cartel out of a Kennards Storage Shed with a goal to build Australia's best online craft beer store. It became Australia's #1 online craft beer retailer, with 7-figure revenue, 150,000+ customers and a 4.8 Google rating. We sold in 2024 and I stayed on through the transition until September 2025.
At Beer Cartel I owned the full commercial operation: P&L, platform strategy, paid media, email, CRO, team leadership, and board reporting. Four direct reports (Marketing, Procurement, Operations, Finance), with monthly presentations to the board.
Top 50 People in Australian Ecommerce (3×)
Online Retailer of the Year, Beer & Brewer (5×)
Best Online Retail Marketing (ORIAS)
Retail Innovator of the Year (ARA)
BigCommerce Make It Big Innovation (2×)
Retail Drinks Australia Board Member (2019 to 2025)
What I Do
Areas I work across
16 years of hands-on commercial leadership. Not theory, actual work done at scale.
Strategy & Leadership
- Full P&L ownership & commercial leadership
- Growth roadmap development
- Team coaching and direction
- Board-level reporting and stakeholder management
Marketing & Conversion
- Conversion rate optimisation
- Email/SMS lifecycle marketing
- Paid media (Meta & Google)
- Being found in Google and AI answers
- Customer acquisition and retention
Platform & Technology
- Shopify & BigCommerce migrations
- Marketing tech stack review
- Automation and integration strategy
- Vendor evaluation and selection
Data & Reporting
- GA4 and tracking health checks
- Trading dashboards and weekly reporting
- Product and customer data clean-up
- Getting your data ready to use with AI
- Reporting that explains why sales moved
AI Strategy & Adoption
- Picking the two or three AI uses worth building
- AI search readiness: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google’s AI answers
- Customer service and email workflows with AI
- Team training and adoption
- Measuring what AI saves or earns
Ongoing Support
- Monthly fractional retainer
- Slack/email between sessions
- Team access and coaching
- Priority scheduling
Full Skillset
What I bring to the table
Across 16 years, I've run every commercial lever in ecommerce: revenue, conversion, platform, marketing, and team.
Growth & Marketing
- Ecommerce roadmap development
- Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram)
- Google Ads & Shopping
- Email marketing: retention & growth
- Conversion rate optimisation (CRO)
- Customer acquisition strategy
- Customer retention & loyalty programs
- Marketing automation platforms
- Content marketing & authority building
- Seasonal campaign planning
- Partnership & influencer marketing
Technology & Platforms
- Shopify, BigCommerce
- Platform migrations & replatforming
- Email/SMS platforms (dotdigital, Klaviyo, Attentive, Mailchimp)
- AI tools applied to ecommerce operations
- Workflow automation
- Analytics & reporting (GA4)
- Customer support systems (Gorgias, Reamaze)
- Shipping/fulfilment integrations
- Payment gateway optimisation
Website & Merchandising
- Website/CRO optimisation
- Subscriptions & recurring orders
- Merchandising & product display strategy
- UX optimisation
- Mobile optimisation
- Checkout flow optimisation
- Product page optimisation
- Category page strategy
- A/B testing & experimentation
Consulting
Available for Consulting Engagements
I take on a small number of clients at a time: fixed-price audits, a two-week AI Strategy Sprint, or ongoing monthly support. See the options.
Work With Me
How I Can Help Your Business
Whether you want a one-off audit or embedded consulting support, here's what's available.
Flexible
Ad Hoc Work
From $500
AUD · Fixed scope · Day rate $2,000
- Strategy sessions & workshops
- Fixed-price audits: AI search readiness $1,200, ecommerce and AI growth $1,500
- Platform migration planning
- Paid media or email reviews
- Team training & coaching
- Written output & next steps
- AI Strategy Sprint, $4,500 over two weeks
Ongoing
Monthly Consulting
From $3,500
AUD · 2 days/month · 1-month minimum
- Fractional Head of Ecommerce support
- Ongoing strategic guidance
- Slack/email between sessions
- Monthly strategy reviews
- Team access and coaching
- Priority scheduling
Get Ecommerce Insights
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Research and retail experience
Interviews and reporting from my time building Beer Cartel and the Australian Craft Beer Survey.
Behind Bars: Beer Cartel At Ten
An anniversary profile covers the founders, ecommerce business and survey. Richard describes designing the research with input from industry participants.
Richard interview
Using market research to build Beer Cartel
Richard explains how the Australian Craft Beer Survey supported industry knowledge and content marketing. The article credits both founders with developing the campaign and reports Beer Cartel's ORIAS award.
Richard interview
Browse the media archive or read my biography and experience.