Brooklyn Brewery has taken a minority stake in Boulder, Colorado-based non-alcoholic (NA) hop tea maker Hoplark as part of a Series A funding round, the two companies announced today.
The New York City-headquartered craft brewery has forged “a comprehensive long-term strategic partnership” that will allow Hoplark to leverage Brooklyn’s infrastructure for production, warehousing, logistics, sales and administration.
Hoplark will also work with Brooklyn’s sales team “to broaden its representation with wholesalers and retailers around the country.”
Whipstitch Capital served as Hoplark’s financial advisor on the transaction. Financial details were not disclosed.
“We’re ecstatic with this financing and strategic partnership with Brooklyn Brewery,” Hoplark founder Dean Eberhardt said in the announcement. “As many people know, we’ve been production constrained for the last 18 months, and we can’t wait to be able to keep up with the consumers who have been emptying our cans off the shelf faster than we can replenish them. Now we can lean back into working with our wholesale and retail partners to expand our sales to their maximum potential.”
Brooklyn Brewery CEO Eric Ottoway added: “The true attraction here goes way beyond just sales and logistics. We are captivated by Hoplark’s novel technological approach to hops. Their willingness to challenge established practices and think outside the box is extremely evident. They have crafted a unique brand narrative around using hops in a ‘triple zero’ concept – no alcohol, calories, or sugar – that is unparalleled in the beverage industry.”
Hoplark CEO Betsy Frost, who joined the company in January, said “this partnership is the next big step in supercharging Hoplark’s potential.”
In January, Hoplark reorganized the company into two subsidiaries: Hoplark, which will oversee the core brand, and Hoplark Labs, a tech-driven division that will launch new beverage brands and products under the leadership of Eberhardt.
Brooklyn Brewery was among the first craft breweries to push into the NA beer space, with its Special Effects line, which launched in Sweden in 2018 and hit the U.S. in 2020. Ottoway also spoke about the then-emerging trend in 2018 at Brewbound Live.
Brooklyn Brewery has continued to expand its NA investment, launching a NA variety pack in late 2021. Dollar sales for the variety pack are up +95% and volume +73.8% year-over-year in the last 52 weeks (ending August 12) in NIQ-tracked off premise channels, according to data shared by 3 Tier Beverages. The offering is Brooklyn’s third-largest by dollar sales, behind Brooklyn Lager and Black Chocolate Stout, with more than $1.1 million in sales in the period.
Year-to-date through August 13, dollar sales of NA beer is up +31.4%, to $222.4 million, while volume measured in case sales is up +19.8%, in off-premise multi-outlet and convenience stores tracked by market research firm Circana. The segment holds a 0.79% share of beer category dollar sales, +0.17%. However, off-premise scans only capture part of the picture of NA beer sales, as producers are able to sell NA beer via direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales across much of the country.