Drinks company Mighty Craft taps into Australia's reopening trade

Australians collectively drink around 75 million litres of beer, 11 million litres of ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs) and five million litres of cider each year – equating to roughly 10 litres of pure alcohol per person annually.

For Mark Haysman, CEO of beverage company and craft beer accelerator Mighty Craft, this represents a sizeable market opportunity – and one he’s eager to capitalise on.

“We have a big ambition, to become Australia’s strongest independent craft drinks business and really leverage our team to unleash the growth of these amazing brands,” Mr Haysman said.

The company’s operation involves investing in (or buying) craft brewers and distillers, then overlaying their business model and deep industry experience to help grow the profile of the businesses in their portfolio.

And it’s not just the locals that Mighty Craft wants to see drinking their stable of beers, ciders, RTDs and spirits – the company has begun exporting Australian drinks to thirsty revellers around the world.

Currently, the company sells eight million litres of beer, cider and RTDs and about 250,000 bottles of spirits each year – and is sitting on 300,000 litres of whisky, which is being left to mature.

By 2025, however, the company hopes to grow these figures. Mr Haysman says he wants to sell 12 million litres of beer, cider and RTDs and move one million bottles of spirits annually.

Total whisky under maturation, Mr Haysman added, will hopefully sit at 1.5 million litres.

But this lofty goal – and the significant progress made towards achieving it – was not what caught Cyan Investment Management portfolio director Dean Fergie’s eye.

Instead, Mr Fergie said Mighty Craft’s purchase of the Adelaide Hills Group – which was completed in June last year – is probably the “most important” part of the company’s recent progress.

This “transformative” business acquisition saw Mighty Craft acquire Adelaide Hills Group’s various brands and venues, and while the timing of that purchase was far from ideal, Mr Fergie said he expects the takeover to deliver value now lockdowns have ended.

“[They settled on it] pretty much just before everything went into lockdown, and the shares and the revenue have done almost nothing since then,” he said.

“Almost a third of the revenue for Mighty Craft was in their venues business, so we believe that when they open up there’s going to be a strong rebound.”

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