French revolution for brewer

French drinkers have developed a taste for Scottish craft beer brand Innis & Gunn with sales in the country doubling in the last 12 months.

A strong trade performance has driven new distribution gains for the Edinburghheadquartered brewer in all key French national retailers, while on-trade growth is said to be particularly strong in Paris, where 70 per cent of the brewer’s sales are by draught.

Innis & Gunn, which has its brewing operation in Perth following the 2016 purchase of Inveralmond Brewery, has seen sales volumes in France double to some 1.2 million bottles in the last 12 months. It expects to see volumes treble by 2020, driven by a fast-growing craft beer category, and the doubling of investment in marketing and sales infrastructure with the appointment of a dedicated team in market.

The success in France comes six months on from the investment in a 28 per cent stake in Innis & Gunn from L Catterton, the consumer goods private equity firm whcih has strong connections to LVMH.

Innis & Gunn has also fought off major international and local competition in Paris to win the award for best beer at France’s largest beer festival, Planète Bière.

Dougal Sharp, the beer maker’s founder and master brewer, said: “We are changing the perception of beer in France with our focus on quality and flavour, and to win the public vote for best beer at Planète Bière is an absolute honour.

“It’s genuinely exciting to see the opportunities to expand the horizons of our drinkers as more French consumers convert to craft beer as an alternative to wine or mainstream beers. We are putting significant investment and resource into France and expect to see it grow to be one of our top four markets globally within the next two years.”

In November 2016, Innis & Gunn raised £2.4m through its first equity crowdfunding campaign.