Irish craft beer brand Franciscan Well, which was purchased by Molson Coors in 2012, is hoping to double its output to over 200,000 kegs over the next half decade.
Overseas Expansion
Talking to The Sunday Independent, Franciscan Well founder Shane Long said, "We want to go to several more countries. Coors are very strong in Eastern Europe, so I'd imagine we'll go there. They've acquired a brewery in Italy and in Spain, so I would imagine we'll be following there because there is a route to market.
"We went from the equivalent of 7,000 kegs, when I was independent, in my best year to last year, which would have been 90,000 kegs. A fifth is coming from the UK and growing rapidly."
Further Investment
Long added, "It's a very ambitious plan. That brewery we have [in Co. Cork] has the ability to do 200,000 kegs, but it requires further investment, which they're doing in the form of a canning line, and they've invested €3 million into it already.
"If the growth keeps going the way it is, we'll see that in five years, but anything can change. When we took over the warehouse, it was 50,000 square foot, and we thought that we would never fill it, but now I think we will."
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