UK-based craft brewer The Crafty Brewing Company has acquired Guildford-based craft brewer the Little Beer Corporation (LBC) for an undisclosed sum.
The Crafty Brewing Company, whose portfolio of craft beers includes Crafty One, Dunsfold Best and Five Hop, claims that the acquisition will double its brewing capacity to 40,000 litres of beer per month.
The acquisition sees Crafty Brewing take over LBC’s brewery, acquire its assets and all LBC staff members will transition to The Crafty Brewing Co.
The Crafty Brewing Co has also said that it plans to redevelop its original brewhouse at Thatched House Farm near Dunsfold, in order to create a new 4,000 square-feet brewery with a capacity of 100,000 litres per month.
Andrew McMorran, The Crafty Brewing Co’s chief executive officer, added: “We owe our success to the loyalty of our customers in Surrey but with demand now coming from national restaurant groups, hotels and theatres we need this extra capacity in Guildford to produce more beer.
“We launched an apprenticeship scheme with Godalming College in February so now we have the capacity to increase production we can recruit more local people to make, sell and deliver to new customers.”
Taylor at LBC said: “We closed Little Beer with a heavy heart. However our extraordinary beers and our former shareholders will be in excellent hands with The Crafty Beer Co, and I look forward to seeing Crafty Brewing go from strength to strength.”
Source: FoodBev
A new wave of brands is emerging that promotes indulgence and rejects the notion of sacrifice. Low-maintenance “hangover” beauty products are designed to address the effects of late nights and partying without judgment or hassle, and even include cosmetics that are formulated in a way that means you can fall asleep in your makeup without feeling guilty.
The pilot will allow the company to scale circular packaging in about 18 markets over the next three years, an approach that jumps on the success of similar efforts in the company’s Indonesia ecoSPIRITS program, which launched in 2022 and is active in 38 bars.
Unilever’s focus on purpose across its brands has been a source of criticism from some of its investors. Its new CEO Hein Schumacher says the company now recognises there are some brands where the concept is simply not relevant.