Keurig Dr Pepper has acquired a holding in alcohol-free craft brewer Athletic Brewing Co in the US.
The minority stake, announced this week, has cost the soft drinks & coffee group US$50m. While details on the size of the holding were not disclosed, the spend will also provide KDP with a seat on the craft brewer’s board.
KDP cited Neilsen figures for the year to 20 August showing that “non-alcoholic beer in the US grew almost 20% in retail dollars over the past year, with the craft segment, where Athletic Brewing holds a 55% market share, far outpacing total category growth”.
Founded in 2017, Athletic operates two breweries in the US, in Stratford, Connecticut and San Diego, California. The company will sit alongside Canadian alcohol-free premix cocktail brand Atypique in KDP’s ‘low- & no-alcohol’ portfolio.
Keurig Dr Pepper came into being four years ago through the merger of Keurig Green Mountain and Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
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