ESCONDIDO, Calif., May 21, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Two years following the announcement of its
acquisition by Sapporo U.S.A.,
San Diego-based Sapporo-Stone
Brewing, unveils the near completion of phase one of its expansion
project at its Escondido brewery.
The $20 million investment in the
Escondido, CA facility is one of
two significant investments for growth with $40 million invested in the company's
Richmond, VA operation. These
investments will result in the doubling of the company's capacity
to about 700,000 barrels a year across its bi-coastal breweries.
The brewing of Sapporo beers in
Escondido, CA and Richmond, VA is now underway.
Stone Brewing, Southern
California's largest craft brewery was acquired by Sapporo
U.S.A. in 2022. The goal was to
transition from an importer to a U.S. brewer, ultimately brewing,
selling, and marketing all of Sapporo's beers for the U.S. market locally.
Richmond's expansion will be
unveiled this fall. By late summer, all production of Sapporo beers will have moved from
Canada and Asia to the U.S.
Sapporo-Stone Brewing is now a combined team of nearly 850
employees, about 600 of whom are based in San Diego County. In support of its expansion
project, the company added 125 jobs locally and another 75 outside
of San Diego County. More than 150
team members have been promoted or moved into new or expanded roles
since the acquisition.
"Operationally, this acquisition looks a lot like a merger,"
stated Zach Keeling, Sapporo-Stone
Brewing Interim CEO. "Our two companies are now fully integrated –
Innovating, brewing, selling, marketing, and operating as a single,
combined business. The Sapporo and
Stone Brewing brands will maintain their individual identities, but
we are Sapporo-Stone in name,
operations, and culture."
The Escondido expansion project
includes additional tanks and packaging lines to increase capacity
and efficiency. On the West Coast Sapporo-Stone now operates out of
its two Escondido brewing and
packaging buildings and a distribution warehouse with offices also
in Escondido. It occupies
additional warehouse space in San Marcos,
CA and Downey, CA. The
company operates two Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens
and five Stone Brewing Tap Rooms. On the East Coast, Sapporo-Stone operates another brewery, an
off-site warehouse, and a Stone Brewing Tap Room all in
Richmond, VA.
Now the nation's 12th largest brewery by volume*
Sapporo-Stone Brewing aims for a top 10 ranking. Finding growth in
the beer market is challenging as craft consolidates and alcohol
drinkers explore countless new innovations, but Sapporo-Stone's craft-meets-import portfolio
sets the company apart. In both the Import and Craft categories,
Sapporo and Stone are gaining
share over the last year. Sapporo
is the number one selling Asian beer brand in the U.S., with sales
up +13.1%, nearly double the growth of the Import category,
+6.7%.** Most of this growth is attributed to its flagship Sapporo
Premium. Stone's best sellers include the Stone Delicious IPA
family of beers, Stone IPA and Stone Buenaveza Salt & Lime
Lager. These Stone core brands are also growing, up 13.2%***
At its Escondido Open House event on May
21, 2024, Hiro Kitaoka,
Sapporo-Stone Brewing Chairman stated, "Stone Brewing is among the
world's most recognizable and celebrated craft breweries. We admire
the team's innovative spirit, passion, and world-class brewing
expertise. We are proud to continue the legacy of Stone and honored
to have this full team's commitment to the Sapporo brand. We are
stronger together, and proud to be a growing San Diego business."
Stone Brewing was among San
Diego's pioneering craft brewers and is credited for
bringing national and international attention to San Diego as a thriving craft beer city. In
its early years, the team fostered collaboration through the
formation of Stone Distributing Company to distribute small craft
brands. It curated countless invitational beer festivals, served
guest beers on tap, and played a founding role in the San Diego
Brewers Guild. Stone Brewing continues to host local craft beer
events and festivals and to offer creative craft innovations like
its One Batch Dispatch beers alongside its year-round beers
available nationwide and in 50+ countries. Locally-brewed
Sapporo beers can be enjoyed and
purchased at all Stone Brewing locations.
For more information visit StoneBrewing.com and SapporoBeer.com
and follow on socials @StoneBrewing and @sapporobeerusa.
Sapporo-Stone Brewing is hiring! Find job postings at
StoneBrewing.com/about/careers.
*Rankings compiled by the Brewers
Association
** NielsenIQ, Total US xAOC +
Convenience, Last 52 Weeks Ending 4/27/24
***NielsenIQ, Total US xAOC +
Convenience, Last 52 Weeks Ending 4/27/24
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SOURCE Stone Brewing Co., LLC dba Sapporo-Stone Brewing Co