Abita Brewing reinvests while building brand-- Dolan Media Newswire Story
No. 1 ABITA BREWING CO.
Craft brewers enjoyed their fifth straight year of increased sales and volume, despite a year in which U.S. beer sales were on the decline.
Fans of the North Shore's Abita Brewing Co. are helping float that independent keg. In the past three years, the company has grown from 45 to 65 employees and become the 28th largest commercial brewer and 15th largest craft brewer in the United States. Abita beer is a staple in south Louisiana restaurants and groceries and is distributed in 44 states.
"Abita has a real strong identity in their own home market ... and they get their beer into the right establishments and right marketplaces," said Paul Gatza, director of the nonprofit Brewers Association, the Boulder, Colo.-based trade organization for craft brewers that also distributes an annual report each year on the brewing industry. Abita Brewing Co. President David Blossman credits the company's growth to sustained quality of its beer and reinvestment over the past 10 years in its brewing equipment and facilities. In 2001, it spent $2 million to upgrade its 30-barrel brewhouse in Abita Springs to 100 barrels. The redesign came from the Steinecker Krones Group of Munich, Germany, using its Merlin brewing equipment, which Blossman calls the greatest innovation in brewing in the past 100 years. In 2007, Abita reinvested again. It expanded to a facility with eight 9,300-gallon tanks to provide the brewery with 170,000 barrels of storage capacity. New offices, additional warehouse space, a beer garden and tasting facility also were added. "As we continue to grow, we continue to reinvest in our products and equipment to meet demand and expectations of our consumers," Blossman said. "People here do a great job of supporting local products and if you provide them with value, choices and quality, they will keep coming back to you." Through the first four months of 2010, Abita has produced close to 40,000 barrels of beer, or about 2,500 barrels a week. Last year, the company averaged 1,700 barrels a week. "It all kind of started with the Saints' Super Bowl run, and everybody's been in a revelry since Mardi Gras," Blossman said. "That definitely helps sales." Abita Brewing Co. reported $21 million in revenue in 2009, a 35.4 percent increase since grossing $15.5 million in 2007. Last year, Abita produced 89,800 barrels of beer, up 12.4 percent from 2008 volume of 79,900 barrels and up 20.5 percent from 74,500 barrels in 2007. Craft brewers sold an estimated 9.1 million barrels of beer in 2009, up from 8.5 million in 2008, while overall U.S. beer sales fell from about 210.4 million barrels in 2008 to 205.8 million barrels in 2009. Leave A Comment
|
