Amidst a challenging landscape for many beer companies, Athletic Brewing Company stands out as a remarkable success story. The largest non-alcoholic brewery in America has not only maintained its independence but has also secured significant financing to fuel its rapid growth. Today, Athletic Brewing announced the closing of a USD 50 million equity financing round led by General Atlantic, a leading global growth investor, with participation from multiple existing investors.
Athletic Brewing plans to use the new capital to support its continued long-term growth. This includes technical investments to increase production capacity, as well as investments to expand its non-alcoholic beer offerings at retailers across the globe.
Athletic Brewing operates custom brewing facilities in Milford, Connecticut, and San Diego, California. The investment from General Atlantic follows Athletic's recent acquisition of a second San Diego brewing facility, formerly known as Ballast Point (inside.beer, 15.6.2024). The company plans extensive renovations and enhancements at this new facility to meet its stringent quality standards and is expected to double its U.S. brewing capacity within the next 18 months.
With this transaction, General Atlantic has gained a seat on the company's Board of Managers.General Atlantic was established in 1980 to combines a collaborative global approach, sector-specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon, and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic has approximately USD 84 billion in assets under management and more than 300 investment professionals based around the world.
"We're thrilled to welcome General Atlantic as a key growth partner at a time when we're significantly expanding our West Coast capacity to meet increasing demand for Athletic beer," said Bill Shufelt, Co-Founder and CEO of Athletic. "We are passionate about transforming the way modern adults drink and converting critics into believers. We're at the start of a long-term trend, and we couldn't be more excited to have General Atlantic by our side as Athletic begins its next phase of growth."
Since its launch in 2018, Athletic Brewing has pioneered a proprietary brewing method to produce fully fermented non-alcoholic brews that are indistinguishable from their alcoholic counterparts. The company has grown from producing just 875 barrels in 2018 to selling over 258,000 barrels (308.000 hl) in 2023, making it one of the top 20 U.S. breweries by volume.
"Athletic has rapidly become the category-defining brand in non-alcoholic beer, and we are excited to partner with Bill and John as the company continues to grow," said Andrew Crawford, Managing Director and Global Head of Consumer at General Atlantic. "With a differentiated brewing process, leading taste profile, and loyal customer base, Athletic is poised to take advantage of the expanding global demand for non-alcoholic beer."
Recent polling indicates that 41% of Americans are actively trying to moderate their alcohol consumption in 2024, a 7% increase from 2023. Additionally, 58% of consumers believe that low- and non-alcoholic beer is a good alternative for long-term alcohol moderation. Athletic Brewing has capitalized on this trend, revolutionizing the quality and marketing of non-alcoholic beer and creating new consumption occasions within the brewing industry.
Despite its need for financing to support its strong growth, Athletic Brewing has remained founder-led, a rarity in today’s beer market dominated by major beverage companies. The company continues to innovate and expand its product offerings while retaining its unique identity and mission.
In 2022, Athletic Brewing Company received another USD 50 million investment from Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP), making the company, which has been majority-owned by the secretive German Reimann family since 2018 (inside.beer, 29.1.2018), a minority equity stakeholder in the business. KDP's investment was part of a Series D funding round in which the fast-growing non-alcoholic beer producer raised a total of USD 75 million. Similar to General Atlantic, KDP also received a seat on Athletic’s board of directors.
Ranked by the Brewers Association as the 10th largest U.S. craft brewery and 20th largest overall U.S. brewing company, Athletic Brewing is America's leading non-alcoholic beer brand. With dollar sales growing by more than 60%, Athletic currently holds over 19% market share within non-alcoholic beer and is driving 32% of the total category growth.