E-Malt.com News article: Australia: Cocal-Cola Amatil, Casella Family Brands create joint venture to launch craft beers and ciders

Casella Family Brands has partnered with Coca-Cola Amatil in a joint venture to launch a range of Australian craft beers and ciders, Food Magazine reported on January 23.

Yenda—located approximately 550 kilometres west of Sydney—is not a conventional manufacturing hub. The broad appeal of Australian wines in the US, UK and Asian markets and the exponential rise in export sales in the mid-2000s has seen massive investment in wine storage, bottling lines and world class processes.

For Australian Beer Company general manager Derek O'Donnell, the partnership of Casella Family Brands with Coca-Cola Amatil is a strong foundation for a marriage made in heaven.

“Casella Family Brands is built on strong family values, combined with passion for success and an entrepreneurial spirit. Coca-Cola Amatil brings economies of scale and one of the leading routes to market capabilities in the domestic market,” O’Donnell said.

Craft beer sales are growing increasingly in popularity, despite a downturn in total beer sales nationally. Only 10 weeks after launching Yenda Pale Ale, it has performed well since its release, earning a silver medal at the Royal Sydney Beer Show and the Australian Craft Awards. The full Yenda range of Yenda Pale Ale, Yenda IPA, Yenda Hell (an unfiltered Helles lager) and Yenda Red (a mid-strength ale) will be distributed across Australia.

“Yenda plays beautifully to the fact that we can produce a domestic craft beer range with a great story. We are celebrating the fact that Yenda is a straightforward, earthy, rustic village with fantastic produce around it. We love the fact that we have to start from humble beginnings, and show our passion and creativity to be the success we want it to be,” O’Donnell said.

Derek believes that Australian Beer Company partnership between Coca-Cola Amatil and Casella Family Brands has worked so well because there is a sense of mutual learning, focus on innovation and a desire for success.

“Both equity partners have been a great support in terms of processes, technology and marketing. It has been a positive surprise to also enjoy the expertise we have tapped into at a local level.”

While Coca-Cola Amatil is Australia's largest distributor and bottler of non-alcoholic beverages and Casella Family Brands is one of the largest family owned winemakers in Australia with phenomenal success in exports, the joint venture is a smaller but steady step in their plans to become a significant player in the beer and cider market.

Mayor of Griffith John Dal Broi said: “We can all be proud that an exciting new business has its roots in the heart of the Riverina, in Yenda.”



23 January, 2015