Melton brewery to double output after £200K investment

Things initially looked bleak for Round Corner Brewing when lockdown led to the March closure of pubs and bars, which represented 95 per cent of their business.

Demand switched overnight to shops, supermarkets and online suppliers, which provided the Melton Livestock Market-based brewer with an opporunity but also a problem.

The business, which was only started two years ago, were outsourcing the canning of their beers to third parties, who were weren’t as quality and deadline-focused as Round Corner Brewing needed them to be, and the company also needed to increase volume and lower the unit price of their cans to fulfil the bulk buying needs of supermarkets.

So they invested in a can wrap-around labeller and date-coding inkjet, as well as taking advantage of a £25,000 Business Growth Grant towards the installation of a new in-house canning line - a total cash injection in the business of around £200,000.

CEO Combie Cryan said: “This is a big step toward our ambitions to become a world-class brewery where we brew and package for other producers as well as ourselves.

“Just in its first few days of operation, our new canning line has produced 20,000 cans of our World Champion Gunmetal Black lager for a major supermarket.”

He continued: “The canning line marks a pivot in our business away from a focus solely on draft beer sold in pubs and into cans sold in retail outlets.

“The grant has had a critical impact on our business.

“People in lockdown wanted their beer at home.

“With this investment, we’ve been able to go national and chase high volume business and all with a greater level of confidence in the quality of the product.

“We can now produce retail-ready beer and react to the market much quicker as things change.

“We’re looking at an exponential increase in sales from a low base of 10,000 cans in 2019 to 75,000 this year, and double that by 2021.”

Combie co-founded the brewery with international master brewer, Colin Paige, and it has already won numerous industry awards, including best draft lager in the world at last year’s International Brewing Awards - acknowledged as the Oscars of beer - for their Gunmetal Black Lager and six awards at the World Beer Awards last month.

Combie thanked the Business Gateway, which is run in partnership with local authorities, the regional chamber of trade and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership Limited (LLEP), for supplying the grant to enable it to make the adaptations to the business - grants are offered to SMEs from £2,000 to £25,000 to provide up to 35 per cent of the cost of capital projects.

Business Gateway adviser, Ann Cook, who helped the brewery apply for its grant, said: “Combie and his team were quick to react to what has been a devastating time for many businesses.

“I’m delighted the Business Growth Grant has enabled them to capitalise on the opportunity and switch their focus to what the market now demands.”