Lofted Spirits is expanding the bottling capabilities at its American whiskey production facility in Kentucky.
The company, which has a contract distillation business and also owns Bardstown Bourbon Co and Green River Distilling Co, has broken ground on a 4,000-square-foot extension in the town of Bardstown that will nearly double its bottling footprint. The upgrade includes an additional high-speed small-format line, which will lift the site’s total capacity from around 10m bottles a year to nearer 35m.
The increase is a response to what Lofted Spirits described as the rising demand for convenience-sized formats across categories, from travel retail miniatures to RTDs. It also broadens the company’s co-packing capabilities to run everything from 5cl to 1.75l with wider customisation options.
CEO Mark Erwin said the move reflects a long-term commitment to customers, adding: “This expansion is about building capability – more capacity, more speed and even more flexibility.”
Financial details of the expansion were not revealed.
Lofted Spirits’ bottling operation employs around 80 people and expects to add several more roles as the expansion scales. Construction is underway, with the enlarged facility due online in the first half of next year.
In March, Lofted Spirits secured US$50m in funding from beverage-focused private equity firm InvestBev.
