Beer industry veteran Adam Lambert has been named the chief revenue officer of BrewDog USA, an international craft beer company that sells beer in 60 countries.
Lambert most recently served as the chief operating officer of Storied Craft Breweries, an upstart growth capital group that launched in 2016 and had intentions of investing in multiple craft breweries.
Prior to joining Storied Craft — which purchased and later sold a stake in Texas’ Deep Ellum Brewing — Lambert spent about seven months as the vice president of sales for Virtue Cider, and about seven years as the VP of sales for Dogfish Head Craft Brewery.
At BrewDog, which sold a 22 percent stake to TSG Consumer Partners in April 2017, Lambert will be tasked with developing the Scotland-headquartered craft brewery’s market presence in the U.S.
“We are in eight states right now, but only five are fully fleshed out,” he told Brewbound. “We’ve got to fill in the gaps, and then we’ll look to expand to about 15 total states next year.”
BrewDog USA, which opened a 100,000 sq. ft. brewing facility in Columbus, Ohio, in 2017, will ship about 25,000 barrels of beer this year, according to a press release.
In a recent profile by MarketWatch, Tanisha Robinson, the CEO of BrewDog USA, said the company – which operates two bars in Columbus, as well as a craft beer-themed hotel — would generate more than $18 million in revenue in 2018.
According to Lambert, the brewery currently has enough capacity to produce about 100,000 barrels of beer annually. His focus in 2019 will be to help scale BrewDog’s business by driving volume through off-premise chain retailers.
“If you are going to be a super regional player, you have to do some tonnage,” he said. “We’re not in a rush to get to 200,000 barrels, but we have an aggressive business plan. We are doing a lot of detailed work to see where we are winning, and focusing on certain account types, certain brands and moving up the ranks within our wholesalers because we bring a level of professionalism they can get behind.”
Lambert added that the beer business is the “toughest” he’s seen in 22 years, and that “blocking and tackling” is more important than ever.
“It’s about picking the channels where it is working, and digging in really hard,” he said.
A press release with additional information is included below.
BrewDog USA Fast-tracks 2019 Expansion with the Appointment of New Chief Revenue Officer
Independent craft brewer, BrewDog, has appointed Adam Lambert as Chief Revenue Officer of BrewDog USA. Adam brings a great wealth of experience to the role having served in the beverage industry for 22 years, most recently as COO for Storied Craft Breweries. In his new role, he will be responsible for cultivating and growing the company’s wholesaler and retailer relationships to further enhance growth in 2019 as BrewDog prepares to wrap up an impressive year.
Adam Lambert, BrewDog USA Chief Revenue Officer, commented:
“It truly has been a remarkable year for BrewDog, from expanding distribution to opening the DogHouse hotel, and I’m thrilled to join the team as we head into the new year. Our plans for 2019 are big, so I can’t wait to hit the ground running! We plan to expand distribution to four or five new states as well as add two new beers to our Headliner Series, launch a new package size for our Headliners, and continue to search the country for new brewpub locations in response to wholesaler, retailer, and consumer feedback.”
Lambert added:
“With the anticipated addition of new distribution states, we’ll be hiring great people that love craft beer as much as we do to join our current sales team of 16 people. If you bleed craft beer and love to blow shit up (two key points of the BrewDog Charter), keep an eye out for our openings at www.brewdog.com/usa.”
Adam joins the BrewDog USA team after spending two years at Storied Craft Breweries as COO. In that role, he participated in and evaluated mergers and acquisitions in all beverage categories. Previously, he also served as VP of Sales for Virtue Cider (part of Anheuser-Busch InBev’s craft and imports division, High End), VP of Sales for New Holland Brewery and Distillery, VP of Sales for Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and National Sales and Marketing Manager for Rogue Ales. Adam has been a featured presenter at the Craft Brewers Conference, Brewbound Live, Beverage Trade Network and the Nightclub and Bar Show.
Tanisha Robinson, BrewDog USA CEO, commented:
“We’ve been searching for someone to fill the role of Chief Revenue Officer and as soon as we met Adam, we knew we’d found the best candidate. During his tenure at some of the most recognizable craft breweries in the country, Adam was able to exponentially grow business and build successful programs with retailers and distributors. Our mission is to make people as passionate about great craft beer as we are, and to bring BrewDog to every corner of the US – Adam is just the person to help us make that mission a reality.”
In 2018, BrewDog shipped over 25,000 barrels of beer from its US brewery, opened the doors to two new brewpubs in Ohio and expanded its distribution to an additional eight states, including Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Michigan. Additionally, BrewDog opened its hotly anticipated craft beer hotel, the DogHouse, at the site of its US brewery.
BrewDog’s remarkable growth has been powered by its record-breaking Equity for Punks crowdfunding initiative, which has garnered a community of almost 10,000 investors and raised more than $10 million since 2016. The brewer’s second round of Equity for Punks USA launched in June and will close on January 22, 2019. Shares can be purchased – or gifted for the holidays – at a price of $50 per share at BrewDog.com/USA/EquityForPunks.
Since 2007 BrewDog has been on a mission to make other people as passionate about great craft beer as we are. From the Headliner series, which includes bold, uncompromising pack leaders like the flagship Punk IPA, to the Amplified range (beer, but turned up to 11), BrewDog brews beer that blows people’s minds and has kick-started a revolution.
Cofounders James Watt and Martin Dickie shook up the business world in 2010 with the launch of pioneering crowdfunding initiative Equity for Punks, an initiative that has seen the company raise over £67.2m over five rounds, raising more money through online equity crowdfunding than any other on record. The funds and the army of punk shareholders (94,000) has enabled the Scottish craft brewery to scale up without selling out.
With over 70 bars across the globe, export into 60 countries, and a brewery in Ohio that launched in 2017, BrewDog continues to take the craft beer revolution stratospheric, whilst continuing to push the boundaries, invest in people, put the beer first, and champion other small breweries in its venues.