The new owners have invested heavily and widely, resulting in investments, restaurant campaigns, new concepts and tender wins. Now Stockholm Brewing Co is raising the stakes even further and stepping up its ambitions considerably.
Jon Birgne, Stockholm Brewing Co's new CEO and one of the new owners, has had almost a year to turn, twist and think about numbers and challenges - while getting to know a whole new industry. And despite the challenges, he says it's one of the most fun things he's done, and the solutions that come now are many.
- The possibilities are endless, right now I'm really excited about a differentiated alcohol tax, which I've just started to understand what it would mean. If it were to go through, it would definitely be even more fun," says Jon Birgne.
Jon Birgne, like the others in the new ownership group, is part of Kulturarenor AB with Stockholm pubs such as Trädgården, Växthuset, Eden, Banankompaniet, Fållan and Färgfabriken in the portfolio. These restaurants alone sell significant volumes of beer during the summer period, and this year they expect about 15 percent, or 40,000 liters of beer, to come from Stockholm Brewing Co. The reason that figure is not higher is because the group signed a five-year agreement with Spendrups just before buying Stockholm Brewing Co.
- We are happy with the cooperation and have no volume requirements. Stockholm Brewing Co is a perfect craft beer complement and at Trädgården we also have our own tap in all our bars and the possibility to serve beer directly from the tank," says Jon Birgne.
From that tap, it is mainly Italo Pils that spins - the beer that will become their volume product and hopefully a national bestseller. In recent days, it became clear that they had won a large systembolaget tender, so in December an organic version of the beer will be launched in the fixed range throughout the country. In practical terms, this means that they need to make major investments in the brewery.
- Among other things, we will buy a centrifuge and more yeast tanks. This will allow us to grow quite easily. The investments are large and costly, but we see increasing the volume capacity as a key to being able to run the brewery sustainably and profitably in the future. The advantages of large-scale production are many, says Jon Birgne.
Today, Stockholm Brewing Co brews around 200,000 liters annually and the ambition is to quadruple that volume within three years. To achieve this, restructuring has already begun, including giving brewing manager Michel Ahlin Wigart a more administrative role, with a strong focus on Systembolaget's quotation system.
- Who knows better than him what we have, and can offer - and how much, and when we can brew it? There's no point in me guessing, and since Michel took over, we've already won several tenders, and the other good brewers are taking on more responsibility and growing in their roles," says Jon Birgne.
In parallel, Stockholm Brewing Co is investing heavily in pubs and is just about to launch the "Your local beer hero" concept, a kind of campaign that will cut several distribution channels and thus costs that make beer prices more competitive for the pub industry.
- By switching from keykegs to steel kegs and taking over distribution ourselves, we can cut costs by around 20%. We will also help with the installation and maintenance of keg systems, which together with the deliveries means that we can have a greater presence in the restaurants - which will be an opportunity to talk about beer and at the same time build relationships. We believe this can lead to an increased interest in beer in general," says Jon Birgne and continues:
- We will put up stickers at the restaurants that join and hopefully we will get other Stockholm breweries to join the initiative. This is also about sustainability, both choosing locally produced beer, but also collaborations between small players. That is the future.
At home, in the brewery, the restaurant continues to develop. So far, it has mainly been open to the area's many lunch guests, but now pub nights are becoming more frequent, as are brewery tours. In addition, the brewery's new large outdoor terrace will open in the coming days. When the opportunity arises, they also run their mobile "mop bar", with beer tanks and taps, which, thanks to its catering license, can camp at both beer festivals and corporate parties.
- With the mop, we invest a lot in after-work, and there we simply charge the same price as if the companies had bought the beer at Systembolaget. It's a much-appreciated feature and another opportunity for us to be seen. We are now investing in many different things to increase visibility and presence in Stockholm, the potential here is enormous," concludes Jon Birgne.
