Sales growth has Castlewellan brewery on the crest of a wave

Sales growth has Castlewellan brewery on the crest of a wave

16 May 2018

A LOCAL brewery is toasting success after securing new customers in Europe and Asia.

Castlewellan-based Whitewater Brewery Co Ltd has secured new customers in Spain, Japan and Russia as part of a concerted effort to increase progress in international markets.

The firm’s latest success follows an investment to build a new, state of the art brewing facility to support the company’s continued growth in the global craft beer market.

Invest NI supported the development of Whitewater’s new manufacturing facilities and has offered the company assistance towards its market development and job creation activities. The local business will also shortly invest in canning facilities in a bid to expand its export offering.

Whitewater owner Bernard Sloan said the expansion marked an exciting time in the company’s history, with the new brewery built to keep up with the demand for its products.

“Now we are also seeing encouraging results from our recent sales and marketing activities, with Invest NI support enabling us to fully execute our business development plans and work towards achieving our sales targets,” he explained.

“Recruiting two new production staff and a sales and marketing manager is helping us gain greater traction in markets outside Northern Ireland. These new orders will help us build our profile across Europe and Asia.“

John Hood, Invest NI’s Director of Food and Drink, said the new business secured in Spain, Japan and Russia was encouraging and indicative of the appetite for award-winning quality from Northern Ireland across the globe. 

“Innovation and market development remain crucial to the growth and survival of the food industry in Northern Ireland as we continue to promote the pure, natural, quality of our local produce,” he explained.

“Invest NI is committed to helping entrepreneurial food and drink companies like Whitewater achieve faster growth in their target markets.”

Mr Hood said the support from Invest NI enabled Whitewater to capitalise on the growing demand for speciality and craft beer. 

In addition, he said the business has also benefited from in-market trade advice to make valuable contacts as well as recruitment support to gain the resources needed to implement its market development plans.

Welcoming the company’s progress, Invest NI’s Director of Food and Drink, John Hood, said craft beer was a growing segment of the global beer industry.

He added: “The Whitewater Brewery Company is a forward thinking, family business, driven to maximise new opportunities in export markets. 

“The support Invest NI offered towards its new manufacturing facility is enabling the brewery to capitalise on the growing demand for speciality and craft beer.

“The business has benefited from in-market trade advice to make valuable contacts as well as recruitment support to gain the resources needed to implement its market development plans.”