Molson Coors Beverage Co. has increased its production capacity more than 400% for a suite of innovations at its Fort Worth and Milwaukee breweries. Upgrades include new canning lines and a state-of-the-art filtration system through which the company expects to be able to quintuple its production of new products Vizzy, Coors Seltzer and Blue Moon LightSky as well as other beverages in its portfolio.
The expansions come at a time when Molson Coors believes it is uniquely positioned to align with consumers’ desires for a variety of beverage choices, the company said. Nielsen data shows that Vizzy, Coors Seltzer and Blue Moon LightSky are three of the top 20 best-selling new innovations in beer and flavored malt beverages to date in 2020.
“We’ve seen tremendous growth in Vizzy, Coors Seltzer and LightSky since each of these products were introduced earlier this year, and we’re full steam ahead from a production standpoint,” said Brian Erhardt, chief supply chain officer at Molson Coors. “These investments will allow us to keep up with demand as we work to aggressively grow our above premium portfolio and prepare for additional product launches that the revamped Fort Worth and Milwaukee breweries are able to handle.“
A new can filler allows the Milwaukee brewery to package nearly 2,000 cans of Blue Moon LightSky per minute. Molson Coors also invested millions of dollars to install new equipment at the Forth Worth brewery to further modernize the facility. The changes at both sites were accomplished in minimal time to keep up with the demand for the new beverages.
Molson Coors recently completed a new brewery near Vancouver, British Columbia, and plans to open a new brewery in Montreal in late 2021.