A Scottish microbrewery has attracted £400,000 of investment following a successful first year in business.
Fierce Beer, which was established by owners Dave Grant and David McHardy in April 2016, has quickly made its mark on the UK craft beer scene since opening its Aberdeen-based brewery.
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The company already exports to over 14 countries globally, and has an extensive sales footprint throughout the UK. The investment, which will double brewing capacity, meet current market demands and plan further future investment, comes
at a vital time.
Southern Cross Beverages – a food and drink group responsible for numerous craft drinks brands throughout Europe and Africa – has invested in the Aberdeen brewery due to its quick growth and promising development.
This investment will allow Fierce to double brewing capacity to 600,000 litres per annum, and to relocate to a 13,000 sq ft premises close to the current brewery – allowing Fierce to open the brewery as a visitor attraction with its own taproom and bottle shop on-site.
Looking to add like-minded brands to its portfolio of businesses, Southern Cross Beverages brings a wealth of extensive expertise in the craft beer industry to the company to assist in executing its aggressive growth strategy. Both businesses share common expansion goals and have previously collaborated on brewing projects both in the UK and in South Africa.
Dave Grant, managing director of Fierce Beer, said: “We are delighted to welcome Southern Cross Beverages into the Fierce family. As well as the investment capital, they bring a wealth of knowledge of growing craft beer businesses. We are very excited to be able to plan ahead for future growth and expansion to meet demand for our beers, and also move towards in-house canning.”
A spokesperson for Southern Cross Beverages said: “The key to a successful partnership of this nature is shared common goals as to the company’s direction, which will always be centered around thought-provoking beers. We look forward to
the journey together with Fierce. What the team have created in such a short space of time is amazing.”
Market demand has continuously grown from strength to strength for the Aberdeen microbrewery, with export markets now global. Fierce’s products can also be found in Marks and Spencer, Aldi, Lidl, The Cooperative and Oddbins, with other major stores lined up for the future.
The craft beer company specialises in high quality, unique beers and boasts a core range of 10 beers, with numerous limited-edition and collaboration brews available seasonally.