Craft lager pioneer Freedom Brewery has announced record turnover for the year ending December 2022 of £5.3m with volume exceeding 25,000HL for the first time in the company’s history. Sales were up 16% versus the previous year and 44% ahead of 2019, driven by its award-winning craft lager which now represents over 70% of sales. And this week the business was awarded a Gold Medal in the European Beer Challenge 2023 for Freedom Lager.
Freedom ran a successful crowdfunding campaign last year raising £0.75m for a new canning line and shareholders have recently committed a further £1m investment which will contribute to the ongoing expansion of the brewery as it seeks to achieve sales of £10m in the next 3 years.
The UK lager market is worth over £13bn, with craft lager the fastest growing category within this, helping to offset the structural decline in standard, mass market brands. Lager accounts for 8 out of every 10 pints drunk in the UK and the opportunity for craft lager to continue displacing declining standard brands is huge.
MD Matt Willson commented: “Over the last 12 months we have seen strong double-digit growth in the On Trade channel as more pubs, bars and restaurants switch to Freedom 4% craft lager as their craft offering. This, coupled with securing new distribution across the Off Trade following the recent installation of our canning line, has driven record volume and sales for the business. Consumer trends for both premium and authenticity have coincided with UK brewed craft lager reaching wider awareness amongst drinkers gained through increased distribution across all channels and we are perfectly positioned to maximise the opportunity within craft lager over the coming years.”
For further information contact: Jeremy Eaton jeremy@thevitalagency.co.uk www.freedombrewery.com