E-Malt.com News article: UK: Adnams studying outsourcing of beer production and packaging

Adnams is studying whether to move the brewing and packaging of its bottled and canned beers to an outside supplier as the Suffolk brewer tries to lower a logistics bill that now exceeds £300,000 a year, according to a report published on October 19 by The Grocer.

The review centers on Adnams’ small-pack beer business, meaning beer sold in bottles and cans. At present, those beers are brewed at the company’s site in Southwold and then transported to Carlsberg Britvic for packaging. The alternative now under review would place both brewing and packaging with another partner, removing the current need to ship beer from one site to another before it is packed for retail sale.

The Grocer reported that Adnams has held discussions with five possible partners as part of an internal project known as “Project Safe Harbour.” The talks raise the possibility that some of the brewer’s best-known beers, including Ghost Ship and Broadside, could in future be produced away from its long-established Southwold brewery. Adnams was founded in 1872 and has been based in the Suffolk coastal town for more than 150 years.

The reported review does not amount to an approved transfer of production. According to The Grocer, the project was still in an exploratory phase over the summer, and the company had not committed to any agreement. No timetable for a final decision has been made public, and no estimate of potential savings or production volumes has been disclosed.

The main cost pressure identified in the report is transport. Shipping beer from Southwold to an outside packer costs the company more than £300,000 a year, The Grocer said. That expense appears to be a key reason Adnams is examining whether a single outside supplier could handle both brewing and packaging more cheaply.

The report said the brewer had previously considered building its own bottling and canning line in Southwold, but decided that the investment required was too high. Outsourcing both stages of production is now being explored as a potentially less expensive option.

Any shift would affect an important part of Adnams’ beer business. The Grocer reported that supermarket sales account for about 60% of the company’s small-pack beer sales. That means decisions about how bottled and canned beer is produced and packed could have a direct effect on a major retail channel, even if the company leaves its pub and hospitality operations unchanged.

The company appears to be weighing cost savings against the risk of changing the character of its beers. The Grocer reported that Adnams had been reluctant to enter an agreement unless it could be satisfied that quality would not suffer. For a regional brewer with established brands and a long local identity, that issue is likely to be central to any final decision.

Adnams did not announce a formal production move on October 19, but it acknowledged that it is reviewing its arrangements. In a statement cited by The Grocer, a spokesperson said the company regularly examines its operations and commercial agreements to make sure it is positioned for the future. The spokesperson said the review of canning, bottling and related logistics was being carried out in light of proposals by Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company, now Carlsberg Britvic, to close its Burton operations.

That statement suggests the review is not only about transport costs but also about changes in Adnams’ existing supply chain. If the current packaging network is altered by Carlsberg Britvic’s plans, Adnams may have to reconsider where and how it packages beer sold in supermarkets and other retail outlets.

The Grocer also reported that Adnams has been considering broader warehousing and logistics changes, including a possible divestment of its Reydon Distribution Centre near Southwold and the outsourcing of other internal logistics functions. Those issues go beyond the brewing and packaging of small-pack beer, but they point to a wider effort to simplify operations and reduce costs.

For now, the clearest known element of the plan is the search for a cheaper model for bottled and canned beer. Adnams is still brewing those products in Southwold and sending them elsewhere for packaging, a process that now carries a six-figure annual transport cost. The company has not publicly said whether Southwold brewing of small-pack beer would continue under any future arrangement, nor has it identified the five potential partners reported by The Grocer.

The review comes at a difficult time for cask ale and other traditional beer categories in the United Kingdom, where brewers have faced pressure from weaker consumer spending and soft trading conditions in pubs and bars. In that environment, fixed costs and distribution expenses carry greater weight, especially for independent and regional producers that do not have the scale of larger brewing groups.

Adnams’ public comments, as quoted by The Grocer, placed Southwold brewing and hospitality operations at the center of its longer-term strategy. Even so, the current review shows that the company is willing to consider significant changes to how its retail beer is made and packed if that helps protect margins and secure a more sustainable operating model.

No final outsourcing agreement has been announced, and the company has not said when the review will end. What is clear is that Adnams is actively examining whether the current system of brewing in Southwold and transporting beer for packaging can continue to be justified when the logistics bill alone runs above £300,000 a year.


20 October, 2026