Independent Scottish craft brewer, BrewDog has today released a half year trading update showing substantial growth across all areas of its domestic and international business.
Total revenue is at £78m, up by 55% versus this time last year. Revenue of the brewery’s bar division is up by 92%, generating an incremental £10m so far in 2018. BrewDog’s heavy investment in the off-trade, its bar openings, and the newly acquired Draft House business have all contributed to its UK retail sales growth of 83%.
BrewDog is now the 13th biggest beer brand in the UK and its flagship beer, Punk IPA is now the number 1 on trade craft beer in the UK with a market growth of 9.8% and a value growth of over 28.8%.
On the off-trade, Punk IPA remains the best-selling craft beer, as it has been for the last three years. Currently, five of the top ten best-selling craft beers in the UK off-trade are BrewDog products.
Ongoing partnerships with JD Wetherspoon and Greene King have added 1,200 draught Punk IPA distribution points in the on trade, while on the off-trade, Morrisons and Tesco have added 1,900 and 6,000 distribution points respectively in 2018.
So far, in 2018, BrewDog has opened nine bars internationally, including two in Columbus, Ohio, and its first BrewPub in Tower Hill, London. Just last week, the brewery opened its first bar in Seoul, South Korea.
In March, BrewDog purchased the Draft House estate of 14 bars in London and the South East and revamped the beer offering at all sites. BrewDog’s own Punk IPA and LoneWolf gin are now currently in the top 5 drinks sold at Draft House venues.
At its AGM in April this year, BrewDog announced plans to open at least 17 new bars in the UK and around the world. Bars in Canary Wharf, London and Reykjavik, Iceland amongst others are set to open in the coming months.
BrewDog’s American division has brought in £5m in revenue in the first half of the year. The 100,000HL brewery, based in Columbus, Ohio opened last year and is already brewing a range of headline beers including Punk IPA and Elvis Juice. This week, BrewDog opened the world’s first craft beer hotel, The DogHouse, next door to the brewery.
BrewDog’s export volume has increased by 35% to 70,000HL in the first half of the year, with revenues up by 32% to £11m. Exports to continental Europe remain the biggest overseas market, but BrewDog continues to see rapidly increasing demand from Oceania and Asia, particularly in China.
Last year, BrewDog announced plans to find a site and build a brewery in China to meet local demand. In April this year, BrewDog began construction of its 50HL brewery in Brisbane, Australia. The site is due to become operational in early 2019.
BrewDog cofounder James Watt said, “We’re at one of the most exciting and pivotal junctures in our existence. We’ve established a solid and rapidly growing presence in the UK and the demand from Europe shows no signs of waning. We’re making significant inroads in Asia and Australia, which I believe will begin to bear fruit in 2019. Our US business is expanding at breakneck speed with new distribution points added every week.
'All this wouldn’t be possible without our passionate community and a global beer audience that is growing increasingly tired of the lack of quality and variety offered by megabreweries.
'These half year figures are great, but we won’t rest on our laurels. There is much work still to do to change minds and bring more people into the craft beer revolution around planet Earth.”