Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) Australia has announced the sale of Feral Brewing Company and its assets, with Beerfarm taking ownership of the Bassendean brewing facility and the brand being sold to Nail Brewing and investor consortium Joint Venture Partners.
The transaction is expected to finalise in June, with CCEP Australia working alongside the new owners for the next three to six months to ensure a smooth transition for staff, customers, and suppliers.
Orlando Rodriguez, CCEP Australia Managing Director, explained that the business decided to divest of the Feral Brewing brand in order to focus on its core range.
“As CCEP continues to align as a bottler of our brand partner, The Coca-Cola Company, the sale of Feral Brewing Company will ensure Feral is ideally positioned for the next exciting phase of growth, while enabling us to focus on our core non-alcoholic RTD portfolio.
“The purchasers possess the attributes to deliver the necessary scale to achieve long-term sustainable growth for the Feral business, and just as importantly, to continue to invest in the development and growth of the Feral team,” he said.
CCEP Australia originally purchased the Feral brand and Bassendean facilities in 2018.
“We are proud of the performance of the Feral business and the journey we have been on with our brand, customers and suppliers. Our sensational Feral team has been integral to the Feral experience and brand, and a huge contributor to its overall track record of performance. We are proud of everything they have achieved and are excited by what the future holds for Feral under new ownership,” Rodriguez said.
Beerfarm’s acquisition of the Bassendean facilities will greatly expand the brewery’s production capacity, which Beerfarm Founder and Director Ian Atkins explained is in line with plans for growth and expansion.
“Our purchase of Feral’s production facilities brings with it a great runway for national and international growth for Beerfarm. We expect to more than triple our production output through this deal. Our ambition is to be an industry-leading international beer brand while maintaining the spirit of our WA brand and high-quality craft beers.
“Feral’s Bassendean production facilities are in fantastic condition which means we will continue to produce the same quality of independent craft beer, just substantially more,” he said.
Beerfarm will continue to brew in its Metricup brewery as well as the newly purchased facility.
“We know what it takes to create beers our consumers enjoy today, and we’ll be creating new, innovative beers by using the existing facility in Metricup to scale up our R&D efforts,” Atkins added.
Following the purchase by Nail Brewing and Joint Venture Partners, Feral Brewing will continue to operate as a separate business, with its own sales and brewing teams. In addition, Feral products will continue to be brewed at the Bassendean facility.
According to Nail Brewing Head Brewer and Owner, John Stallwood, Nail and Feral have enjoyed a close partnership over the years, including co-owning the Bassendean facility until its purchase by CCEP in 2018. Many Nail beers are still brewed at the facility today.
“Feral is an iconic beer brand and Hop Hog has started many Australians on their journey to love craft beer. I have been associated with Feral from early days, and Feral Brewing Founder Brendan Varis installed my brewery in 2000,” Stallwood said.
Stallwood is looking forward to working with the Feral team on strengthening and growing the brand.
“We have a lot to work out with the staff in working on what they think we can do to get Feral back. The staff is very passionate and with new energy and hard work, we will move forward strong.”