Prohibition Liquor Co.
Equity Crowdfunding Case Study
March 2025, $2.6m raised
In March 2025, Prohibition Liquor Co. closed the first alcohol crowd-sourced funding campaign in South Australian history. It was also the largest raise in Australia for 2025 at the time of offer completion.
Through crowd-sourced funding, Prohibition Liquor Co. welcomed over 1,128 new shareholders and brand ambassadors from across the country, raising a total of $2.6m. This raise will fund the build of the Seppeltsfield and Penny Hill Venues, two new locations, as well as renovations to their current flagship on Gilbert Street.
About Prohibition Liquor Co.
Prohibition Liquor Co. began with a simple goal: to craft the best gin they had ever tasted. In 2015, they started in a small backyard in the inner suburbs, but their passion quickly propelled them to national and international distribution. Soon after, they opened their first venue in the heart of Adelaide’s CBD.
Since then, Prohibition has grown into one of Australia’s most awarded and respected distilleries, earning hundreds of international accolades. With unique packaging and brand positioning, their thriving venues and award-winning spirits are a testament to the team's dedication, focus, and community spirit.
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Now, Prohibition intends to accelerate their growth through expanding Seppeltsfield Distillery, adding 150sqm of space to their Adelaide CBD venue, and enter key international markets such as the USA, Japan & France.
Since inception, Prohibition has earned revenue of A$24.5m and expanded with a compound growth rate of 56% from 2016 to now. They have generated over $4m in online and direct sales, and won over 200 global awards, including; Australian Champion Distiller of the Year in 2023.
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Prohibition has sold over 200,000 units, and had over 150,000 visitors in their Gilbert Street Tasting Room.
The company has achieved great growth through a business model that incorporates multiple revenue streams, including; Online & Direct, Wholesale, Venue Sales through their Adelaide CBD Distillery Cellar Door and tasting rooms, as well as events and activations. This diversification has enhanced their financial stability and growth pathways.
"They've been on our journey as outsiders - they purchased our product, drank at our venue and seen us at events. Now, they're insiders and part of the family."
Adam Carpenter, Founder & CEO
First Equity Crowdfunding Raise in the Alcohol Sector in South Australia
Prohibition Liquor Co. decided to leverage equity crowdfunding to fuel their business growth in all aspects, not only capital. Their goal was to acknowledge their longstanding customers by inviting them to share in the success of the business and join the next stage of growth.
Prohibition's holistic campaign strategy, including PR & digital marketing, resulted in over 1,120 new shareholders - some of which flew internationally to meet the team and share a drink at their Adelaide venue. The $2.6m raised will be used to expand their venues as well as enter new markets internationally.
"What crowd-sourced funding has done for our business will have a long-lasting impact for many years to come.
Adam Carpenter, Founder & CEO
Media Features During The Campaign
Why Did Prohibition Choose To Raise Funds via Equity Crowdfunding?
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“When we really thought to ourselves 'what is it about Prohibition?' we realised it was the large number of very dedicated and very loyal customers that we have had for a long time, which is our greatest strength. So, that's when we thought yes, we could bring capital in from private sources, but we want to engage our customers and bring them into the Prohibition family even more so than they have been.
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We wanted to share the success and the journey with them because they helped us get to where we are, and we could not be more glad that's the direction we took because the engagement we've had since starting this journey has been incredible.”
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– Adam Carpenter, Founder & CEO at Prohibition Liquor Co
Insight from Adam Carpenter, Founder & CEO
What advice do you have to others that are contemplating undertaking an equity crowdfunding campaign?
You need to throw everything into it, and you'll need to commit a lot of time to it. In order to do this really well, you'll need to make sure you've most things on hold for a period of time to give yourself to the process and campaign.
I think in hindsight now that it's either 100% or not at all. You've got to get the timing right for when you are in a position to commit and then give it 100% because there's a lot to do. As well as that, my advice would be to spend the time running the campaign well - to make the phone call to potential investors, to answer the questions, and make sure you're really accessible. It's important.
And also to work with good people! Make sure that you are working with specialists in this space. For the period of the campaign, the specialists you work with will be on speed dial and talking every day, really part of each other's lives. But after, you may not cross paths again because that's how you know they're true crowd-sourced funding specialists. It's quite a journey.
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The advice from me is to commit to the journey and know that the time will be some of the most beneficial time you spend in and on your business.
What success do you think your digital marketing & PR campaign brought to the campaign as well as your brand?
We knew from the offset this campaign would need to take a holistic communication approach, and so we engaged PR professionals and an external digital marketing agency that are specialists in this realm. Alongside them, our internal design team took our design assets to a new level and
brought everything together. But I would say, there's no single thing that delivered the bulk of the results. It was the synergy between all the moving parts. Incredible PR meant that we had national news stories, even on TV across the country - and that really flowed well into the digital campaign where we would use the assets and connect people to us through their socials, which then led them to all of our design assets. Our offer document was then the final piece to help convert people. So, it's a holistic campaign that makes investing online a success.
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Our PR professional really got his head inside what makes people want to invest in a company like ours, and our digital marketing agency was great in terms of targeting and timing. As well as that, the team at OnMarket were essential for guiding us through the journey and process because it was very foreign to us.
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So, it wasn't one initiative, it was all teams and channels moving together in unison.
What impact have you found the campaign to have on your brand and company?
Mark, this is what has blown me away the most, to be honest. I said to the team before we started, "it's not just about bringing in investment it's also about bringing in people and building are brand". I expected there would be some sort of uplift in visibility and perception of the brand, but it's blown me away. We had so much involvement from potential investors during the campaign -
so much acknowledgement that people had seen our activity and noticed us more than ever before around Australia. We had so many investors come from outside South Australia. Yes, it was the first raise in South Australian history so it was newsworthy but we had so much interest from Sydney, for example, than we did from Adelaide, which is huge growth for our brand.
Even before the close of the campaign, we had people come into our venue and say "we're investors, we just wanted to come in and immerse ourselves in the brand and enjoy a drink." I've also had people fly from overseas to catch up with us. I was in Canberra for a conference and an investor had flown from New Zealand to come to the conference to learn more about our industry, and he was from the banking world. We got to hang out with him and answer questions. We had someone also fly from Singapore to come to the venue and spend time with us!
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Also, just our local audience. If I'm at an event they'll come up to me and say "I've come on board as an investor", and they're really proud. We're stoked to have them as part of our family. The excitement and energy and uplift in visibility is more than we expected, and we haven't even started working with them yet.
Final question, how did you find working with OnMarket?
We did our research before selecting our financial intermediary but for me, it came down to feeling like the fit was right with OnMarket. In business, sometimes you just have to go with your gut. I really felt that you, Mark, spent time running a business in this craft alcohol sector was a huge plus. I felt comfortable that a similar type of business owner who could understand our
business and industry would be supporting us and guiding us. The OnMarket team and us were a really good fit from the moment we hit go to the end of the campaign. Everyone was working 110%, and for us it was that the team was so immersed in the journey - having late night calls that were important, and you don't expect someone to be that accessible but whenever we needed you the team was there.
Everyone was incredibly supportive, positive and encouraging throughout the entire journey. Even when things popped up, whether they're legal or financial, you knew the intricacies and guided us, which was so important. It's important to trust who you work with. So thank you! What this has done to our business will have a long-lasting impact for many, many years to come.
Prohibition Liquor Co. engaged Jigsaw Agency for their digital marketing & DL Comms for their PR.
To enquire about raising funds via equity crowdfunding, click here.