Lion Little World Beverages has announced the appointment of Adrian Mooney as Marketing Director for Europe and Asia, in a move to accelerate take-up of craft beer amongst consumers and in underdeveloped trade sectors. Mooney’s hire comes alongside appointments he has made across digital and social media and a revamp of Hospitality leadership across its four UK taproom venues, including the flagship Little Creatures Tap & Brewery at King’s Cross.
“Craft beer is an extremely exciting and creative space but after ten years of growth, numbers of drinkers have slowed down as the sector has saturated with similar looking brands and designs and it’s become harder to understand and differentiate,” said Mooney. “Our consumer research indicates that non-craft beer drinkers see barriers to trying craft beer with over half unfamiliar with brands and a further third either feeling craft brands have confusingly unclear styles and names or are too pretentious. This year, we have tripled our marketing budget to underline our commitment to growing the category.”
Little World Beverages was launched in 2020 and represents a unique domestic and international portfolio of craft beer including UK Top 10 brands, Fourpure Brewing Co and Magic Rock Brewing as well seminal Australian craft brewery, Little Creatures and renowned US IPA beer leader, New Belgium Brewing.
Mooney brings with him strong entrepreneurial and brand building experience, having run a start-up for two years in London as well as Marketing Director roles at Heinz, McVitie’s, Britvic and Tetley.
Mooney said: “I started working with the business in a consulting role in August 2020, developing Little World Beverages’ first marketing strategy, which defined clear roles in the category for our amazing brands. Fourpure is very much at the gateway to craft beer and its pure and simple proposition helps hold the door open to craft curious consumers and will soon be reflecting its humble Bermondsey SE16 roots. Magic Rock has grown massively in the past 18 months with a wider audience of craft aficionados who have come to appreciate its differentiated look and globally award-winning brews which pique their curiosity. We are also well placed with the next generation of drinkers looking for attitude and experience, in bringing New Belgium’s US craft IPA – Voodoo Ranger to the UK. Our immediate priority is working with our customers in the pub and beer space to provide vital support, ensuring they get back on their feet and are able to thrive post-lockdown. We feel our brand portfolio is well placed to help them differentiate their offer.”
John Wright has been appointed as Head of Digital Growth, an expert increasing traffic and building consumer engagement and conversion and is launching new Magic Rock and Fourpure websites as well as Little World’s new B2B website. Wright joins the business with over ten years of experience of running his own digital consultancy, focusing on marketing and website services before spending two years with Chillisauce Events working on B2C and B2B projects, and helping generate £20m annual revenue.
Lauren Barnett has also joined as Social & Community Manager, bringing five years of content creation and social media experience, Barnett’s role will be to help expand social reach and drive connections into new online and offline communities across all brands.
Chris MacRae has joined the team as the UK’s Voodoo Ranger Brand Developer. His experiential agency experience is perfect for a hybrid remit that covers marketing and experience on premise to introduce 18-30 gamers to “Live Rangerously.” He also looks after social media, Twitch and gaming influencers to help reach this audience.
Working closely with marketing, Stefan Boxall joins as Head of Hospitality UK and brings over 25 years of experience within the industry with Revolution Bars, Café De Paris and other leading West End operations. Boxall oversees Bermondsey, Huddersfield and Holmfirth taprooms as well as the Little Creatures Kings Cross tap and microbrewery that showcases all brands. Supporting Boxall is Chloe Webber, Sales and Events Manager, charged with developing corporate relationships and events in the venue pulling on her experiences at Revolution Bars.
As a final comment, Mooney added: “We’re excited to be in such a privileged position with our targeted portfolio and take the opportunity to support the continued growth of great craft beer in the UK very seriously. We can’t wait to share our products with more people when the on trade reopens very soon.”
-ENDS-
About Little World Beverages:
- Launched in 2020, Little World Beverages is Lion Australia’s global craft arm and represents a strong portfolio of craft beer, spirits and wine brands in the markets outside Australasia.
For Little World in Europe & Asia, the focus is mainly on craft beer.
- London’s Bermondsey-based Fourpure Brewing Co and Huddersfield-based Magic Rock Brewing lead the charge with national distribution within Tesco, J Sainsbury, Asda, Morrison’s, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer and a strong portfolio of core and seasonal products sold in On Trade and Direct to Consumer. The brands have been at the forefront of the UK craft beer scene since 2013 and 2011 respectively.
- New Belgium Brewing are the fastest growing craft beer brewery in the US. Launched in 2017, Voodoo Ranger is now only second to Sierra Nevada (launched 1980) in the craft beer market – with value approaching $450m
- Australia’s Little Creatures was a seminal craft beer in Fremantle near Perth, established in 2001.
Gordon Treanor, MD
- With more than 20 years of experience in beer, most recently heading up Lion’s craft portfolio in Australia, Gordon Treanor is Managing Director of Lion Little World Beverages Europe & Asia.
- Craft Beer in the UK makes up 5% of total beer, whilst in Australia it is more developed with a 12% share of the market. Treanor brings a wealth of knowledge from this dynamic Antipodean market that he hopes to translate into the growing UK craft sector.
Press release from Storm Communications on behalf of Lion Little World Beverages
Contact: Ollie Baker / Jemma Wythe
Storm Communications
Tel: 020 7240 2444
Email: llwb@stormcom.co.uk