The partnership with Pilot will see the craft brewer utilise its two breweries in Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin to produce its flagship beer Stoop Lite and mango IPA Journey Juice for national distribution.
Sales of non-alcoholic beer in the US averaged 31% growth over the past four years (according to data from NielsenIQ) and up 32% in 2023 alone. Mash Gangs decision to launch in the US was prompted by a growing number of customers spending more than $200 USD to import its products into the country.
Official launch
Having already worked with Pilot to launch a few tester products in the Autumn of last year, Mash Gang will officially launch on Tuesday, February 20. Pilot has the capability of producing 200,000 barrels of products per year across its two sites.
Mash Gang’s move into the US comes one month after it secured ‘significant investment’ from tech investor Ryan McCarry to support its continued growth and tech integration.
Investment potential
Managed and brokered by Brabners LLP, the investment will see the drinks maker upscale its production to 500,000 units per year while delivering new technology to support research and development in low- and no-alcohol drinks.
Meanwhile, sales of non-alcoholic drinks surged in January as Britain sees a cultural shift towards wellness trends at the start of the year, according to new research from bespoke retailer Not on the Highstreet.
Non-alcoholic drinks sales for the retailer jumped 128% in January 2024 compared with January 2023, fuelled by a ‘New Year, new me’ mantra that has become a “stalemate in British culture, rather than the fad it once was seen as”.