As of Jan. 1, sales teams of all three will be working for Brooklyn Brewery. The idea is to be able to better compete with major brewers that have been buying American craft breweries. The deal – terms weren’t disclosed, but Brooklyn is said to have made a “meaningful” investment in the two – will give Brooklyn a West Coast presence, and 21st Amendment sales reps in New York.
The partnership with Brooklyn allows the three partners to leverage a combined platform that will be comprised of a field sales and key accounts team of 70 salespeople and 90 brand ambassadors covering 38 states.
21st Amendment Brewing has 20 reps covering 24 states. Funkwerks has two salespeople – both in Colorado – but sells in 7 states. Brooklyn has 15 in New York State alone.
“Craft breweries are inherently inefficient,” says Nico Freccia, co-founder of 21A. That’s dangerous when you’re competing against the likes of Anheuser-Busch and Heineken.
“If you’re a small brewery, the local demand helps you survive. If you’re a big brewery, you have the cash to weather the storm. If you’re mid-size like us, the waves seem to hit harder,” he said. But “if we share resources, brain power, and industry knowledge, we can succeed.”
Terms weren’t disclosed. First Beverage Financial served as financial advisor.