Inc. Magazine’s annual ranking of the top 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the U.S. is out and, not surprisingly, several craft breweries made the cut.
Nine craft breweries appeared on this year’s list, which is ranked according to percentage revenue growth over a four-year period. To qualify, companies must be privately held U.S. entities – not subsidiaries or divisions – and be able to show full calendar year sales. Revenue in the initial qualifying year must have been at least $200,000 and revenue in the most recent year must have been $2 million.
Craft breweries that made the 2015 list include:
- Figueroa Mountain Brewing Co. (519)
- Back Forty Beer Co. (1,111)
- The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery (1,590)
- Sun King Brewing Company (2,006)
- Oskar Blues Brewery (2,340)
- Lonerider Brewing Company (2,620)
- Stone Brewing Co. (2,910)
- Narragansett Brewing Company (3,572)
- New Glarus Brewing Co. (4,581)
According to Inc., Stone Brewing led all breweries on the list in terms of revenue, generating more than $185 million in 2014. Oskar Blues generated $43.8 million and New Glarus generated $41.1 million.
On a percentage growth basis, Figueroa Mountain Brewing posted growth of 893 percent. Back Forty Beer Co. has grown revenue 385 percent while The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery has grown revenue 256 percent, according to Inc. figures.
Reached by phone, Narragansett CEO Mark Hellendrung said making the list helps expose a company to new business opportunities.
“We usually end up getting a lot of phone calls and interest from service providers and suppliers,” he said. “But the cool part of being on the list is being included in this brotherhood of growing craft breweries.”