Casella Family Brands attains national distribution rights of Better Beer

This morning, Casella Family Brands confirmed that it has attained national distribution rights of Better Beer following the collapse of previous distributor Mighty Craft. The Better Beer Company will continue to own and manage the brand while Casella Family Brands will focus on expanding the brands reach across both on- and off-premise channels.

The partnership marks a natural evolution of the existing relationship between the two businesses that has seen the production of Better Beer be conducted at Casella’s Yenda facility ever since its launch to market in 2021.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for our business as we continue to strengthen our portfolio of category-leading brands across wine, beer spirits and RTD,” said John Casella, Managing Director of Casella Family Brands.

“We look forward to working with the Better Beer team to continue growing the brand’s distribution footprint in both the on and off trade, building on the great success they have achieved since launch in 2021.”

Nick Cogger, CEO of the Better Beer Company, added: “This new model allows us to focus our efforts on ensuring the brand connects with consumers. At the same time, Casella Family Brands’ capabilities will support the brand in realising its full potential in the domestic market. Bringing together the second largest independently owned Aussie beer brand and Australia’s largest family-owned drinks company is an exciting prospect for us all.”

Mighty Craft’s most valuable asset, Better Beer - which was Co-Founded by Inspired Unemployed co-founders Matt Ford and Jack Steele - has continued its strong growth trajectory to become one of Australia’s leading independent beer brands. This includes 12 million litres being sold in the 12 months up to March 2024 and an overall 18.2% growth rate over the third quarter of FY24. Better Craft was also named the Contemporary Beer Gaining in Popularity at the 2024 Australian Drinks Awards.

At the same Awards, Casella Family Brands received the prestigious Most Improved Supplier of the Year accolade.

In a last-ditched effort to return to profitability, Mighty Craft outlined a plan to increase its equity stake in Better Beer from 33% to full ownership in April. After this failed to come to fruition, Mighty Craft’s creditors voted that the drinks group be taken over by senior debt-lender Pure Asset Management towards the end of October.

Casella Family Brand’s Head of Sales Chris Blockley says that Better Beer is a natural fit for Australia’s largest family-owned drinks company.

“The addition of Better Beer to the CFB portfolio supports our ambition to offer our customers a repertoire of quality Australian brands and help drive category growth,” he said.

“In addition, we are committed to constantly evolving our product range to provide conscious consumption and ‘better for you’ alternatives to ensure we cater to all consumers.

“Bringing the Better Beer range into the fold considerably strengthens our offering in this space.”

In addition to the original Better Beer Zero Carb, the Better Beer Company's portfolio now also includes Ginger Beer, Middy, Arvo Ale, and Zero Alc.

All five Better Beer SKUs will be exclusively distributed as part of the Casella Family Brands portfolio. This also includes Australian Beer Co., which Casella acquired from Coca-Cola Europacific Partners in January 2022.