BELLFIELD Brewery, the UK’s only dedicated gluten-free beer producer, has set out its ambition to expand in the on and off-trades after securing £430,000 in a fresh funding round.
The Edinburgh brewer intends to ramp up its headcount in light of the investment, led by angel syndicate Equity Gap and supported by the Scottish Investment Bank. Some of the brewer’s existing investors also took part in the equity financing round.
The funding drive comes after Bellfield, whose gluten-free beers are distributed by wholesalers Inverarity Morton, Gordon & MacPhail, Bidfood and Conviviality, previously raised £180,000 on Crowdcube in 2015. And it coincides with increasing demand from consumers for food and drink products which cater for people with dietary intolerances, such as Coeliac disease.
Bellfield, which was founded by Coeliac sufferer Alistair Brown and Giselle Dye in 2014, said it will use the funding to expand its sales team. Its initial priority will be hiring an experienced sales manager to develop sales in the UK on and off-trades, with a wider ambition to grow its headcount from the current four full-time staff to 12 over the next three years. The recruitment will focus on taking on sales staff and account managers.
Director Marie Brown said: “We already know from our first year in business that there is considerable demand for our products in the UK and beyond. We’ve already delivered on our ambition to produce beer that stands up to anything in the market and we’ve secured listings with many of the leading food and drink distributors and wholesalers in the UK. We will now invest to grow our sales and operational team to build on the opportunity and grow our range of beers.”
The expansion comes as Bellfield grows its presence around the UK,. The firm is now listed by London wholesaler Amathus Drinks, and was selected as one of only 10 UK breweries for Naked Wines’ inaugural craft beer offer.
It has also been taking steps in the export arena, with Malta emerging as a key market. Pallets have been shipped to Switzerland and Singapore. Ms Dye said its initial export focus will be on countries around Europe, noting that it has been developing a strategy in partnership with Scottish Development International (SDI). She also highlighted the importance of Bellfield becoming a Scottish Enterprise account-managed business, a status given only to high-growth companies with export potential. Ms Dye declined to provide specific details on Bellfield’s financial performance, but revealed it is on track to achieve turnover up to five times greater than it recorded in its first year.
While a growing number of Scottish brewers are offering gluten-free beers Bellfield is understood to be the only exclusively gluten-free producer in the country. Bellfield devised its own recipe based on gluten-free ingredients, in conjunction with Heriot-Watt University. Ms Dye said this contrasts the approach taken by other brewers, which de-glutenise their beers by using enzymes.
And, unlike many of the current crop of Scottish craft brewers, Bellfield does not intend to release a wide range of specialist beers. It is largely concentrating its efforts on two beers - Bohemian Pilsner and Lawless Village IPA (India Pale Ale). “We have been focused on building our distribution network,” Ms Dye said. “We are interested in building a business of scale, focused on distribution first, rather than developing a lot of different products.”
Meanwhile, the company has been taking its first steps into the draught market. Bellfield, which supplies the bulk of its beers in bottles, has started selling kegs of both of its beer to bars in the Edinburgh area. Early stockists include the Safari Lounge and the Black Cat. Ms Dye said the products have been selling well. “We’ve even sold a cask to the House of Commons,” she said. “It’s been on tap in the Strangers’ Bar.”
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