With over 50 per cent growth in sales, an injection of equity investment and plans to double turnover by 2020 the brand have created a raft of senior appointments in its sales arm.
In the last 18 months, the independent Scottish craft brewer has sold over 40 million bottles of beer globally, raised £2.5 million in equity crowdfunding, purchased Inveralmond Brewery- now The Innis & Gunn Brewery – in Perth, opened four Beer Kitchens in Scotland and signed a distribution deal for China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Innis & Gunn’s Lager has also strengthened its position as the No.1 craft lager in Scotland with a volume growth of 210 per cent in the off-trade and 40 per cent in the on-trade.
The beer brand intends to double its turnover to £25 million over the next three years and triple beer production in the next two years to 30,000 hectolitres at its own brewery.
The brewer has appointed industry veteran David Knowles as Head of Sales Off-Trade, bringing over 12 years experience in FMCG brands in the convenience, cash and carry and multi-grocer channels.
David will lead the team in accelerating the UK-wide growth of the Innis & Gunn portfolio in the off-trade, recently adding Gunnpowder IPA and the Brewer’s first zero alcohol beer, Innis & None, to the core range of Original, Rum Finish, Lager and Session IPA.
While Adam Walsh has been brought in as National Account Manager, putting him in charge of building on the growing thirst for quality craft beers in the trade to expand the brand further into England and Wales, building on Innis & Gunn’s established on-trade presence in Scotland.
Crawford Sinclair, Innis & Gunn’s Director of Sales, commented: “We had an incredibly exciting, and undoubtedly transformational 2016 in the business, and our investment in our sales team is a significant step to build on this momentum in the trade and give our customers the support they need to grow their business and ours.
"David and Adam bring a wealth of experience and enthusiasm for the exciting opportunities in the craft beer category, and our new structure with Jeremy heading up the on-trade in Scotland ensures we are in an excellent position to drive our business forward across the UK market.”
