Athletic Brewing, headquartered in Milford as of last year, has a lot to cheer about in 2023 – including a boom in sales of its non-alcoholic beer that is likely to propel the company into the ranks of the top 20 craft brewers in the nation.
Athletic saw more than 100% growth in its sales in the last year, according to Communications Manager Chris Furnari, capturing 55% of the market share of craft non-alcoholic beer in the U.S. and distributing its products in all 50 states.
“We had another year of tremendous growth,” Furnari said, adding that Athletic was on track to double for 2022 its 2021 sales of $37 million. In addition, the company is expecting this year to crack the top 20 of the Brewers Association list of top national craft brewers, rising from No. 27.
Only brewery giants Heineken and Budweiser now sell more nonalcoholic beer than Athletic Brewing, which launched as a two-man operation in Stratford in 2017.
The no- and low-alcohol adult beverage segment is expected to grow 7% a year through 2026, according to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, with non-alcoholic beer and cider contributing nearly 70% of the overall growth.
“Dry January,” a growing trend in which people go alcohol-free for the month, has prompted Athletic to make a “seven-figure investment” in marketing the company’s products to drinkers. The company’s “Give Dry a Try” campaign features ads on TV, podcasts, digital and social media platforms as part of an effort to reach 45 million people, Furnari said.
Athletic’s ads are urging consumers to try out giving up alcohol, even if just for a few weeks.
“We know that 31 days of continuous abstinence can be pretty intimidating,” Furnari said. In prior years, the Dry January trend has boosted Athletic beer sales 20-30% for the month, Furnari said.
Adding new beers to the company’s lineup also encourages participation in the trend, Furnari said. New flavors on tap in limited release for January include a witbier, three new IPAs, a pale ale and an Irish dry brew.
“Our ability to experiment with so many different varieties and styles and flavors does get people excited,” Furnari said. “It’s really great, especially in Dry January, to introduce people to the different array of flavors that you can achieve in non-alcoholic beer.”
More than 5,000 new retail outlets added Athletic beers in 2022, including Walmart, Target and major supermarket chains, for a total of more than 30,000.
To meet that demand, brewing operations and staff have expanded, with more than 220 people now employed by Athletic across the company’s locations in Milford, Stratford and San Diego, Calif. The company has added 150 new employees in the past two years.
Brewing operations in the Milford facility, inside a 150,000-square-foot building in an industrial park at 75 Cascade Blvd., have grown to meet demand, and the plant recently began producing 12-packs in addition to six-packs, Furnari said. The company is working to centralize its East Coast operations in Milford but maintains a tap room and some operations in Stratford, he added.
Trends in beer sales point toward increased growth for Athletic, Furnari said. Traditionally, non-alcoholic brews represented only about 1% of beer sales, but trendsetting grocer Whole Foods has recently reported that 8.5% of its beer sales are now non-alcoholic beers.
“That is a real clear indicator for us, where we think we can get to not just as a brand, but as an entire category,” Furnari said.
Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.
