In one of our new export case study videos, Allan Rice, Co-Founder of the Atom Brewing Company, talks about how export markets such as Switzerland and Italy are craving new styles of beers, and how the company’s first export market, Sweden, has developed to include Australia, New Zealand, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Norway, France and Spain !
Some interesting facts about the UK’s brewing industry:
- British brewing is a world class manufacturing sector and British beers long renowned throughout the world
- The UK is the sixth largest exporter of beer in the world
- In 2020, British brewers’ total overseas trade of beers were £400 million.
- An industry worth £8.9 billion to the UK economy
- After Scotch whisky and chocolate, beer is the largest food and drink export from the UK.
- The leading five export destinations for beer from United Kingdom in 2020, by export value: United States, Republic of Ireland, Canada, France, and China.
- Growing markets include China, Eastern Europe, India, Israel, Japan, Latin America,the Middle East, North Africa, Norway, Russia and Turkey.
- Through post-Brexit trade deals, small to medium sized breweries in the UK could begin to emerge as global players.
- The potential for exports in the post-Brexit era is set to boom with new trade partners, technology and innovation all playing their part as we move into the 2020s.
According to the Society of Independent Brewer’s British Craft Beer Report 2020, 30% of independent breweries now have a Taproom serving beer on-site. 50% of consumers in 2020 recognised that craft beer must be produced by a small independent brewery, up from 43% in 2019.
Community is also increasingly important for consumers and this has really helped with the growth in local brewery taprooms. Beer drinkers can try fresh beers direct from the source and often try something not available elsewhere – for brewers it has created a vital revenue stream in a market that is extremely tough and competitive. It’s one of the big success stories of the last few years and almost a third of independent breweries now have a taproom on site – an incredible number across the UK.
In 2020, approximately 135 million British pounds worth of beer was exported from the UK to North America. (source Statista)
The British Craft Beer Report is the most comprehensive annual report covering the beer industry, combining insight and analysis from the wider beer market with the results of SIBA’s annual members’ survey and exclusive consumer research commissioned by SIBA through YouGov. For more information, visit The Society of Independent Brewers.