COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, MI (WKZO AM/FM) – Bell’s Brewery Inc. is investing $2.6 million to boost packaging automation capacity its Comstock Township brewery east of Kalamazoo as a way to produce more variety packs of its popular beers.
The investment includes an additional $500,000 project to reduce waste at the production facility. These latest investments come just months after the company wrapped up an 18-month expansion project that doubled the brewery’s canning capacity.
Carrie Yunker, executive vice president at Bell’s Brewery, told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business they have found recent success in using the variety packs to introduce consumers to new flavors. She says while taproom business continues to rebound from the pandemic, sales haven’t quite returned to normal, making retail variety pack options a key tool in reaching loyal Bell’s fans.
After being sold by founder Larry Bell in 2021, Bell’s is now operated by Lion-owned New Belgium Brewing Co., based in Fort Collins, Colorado.
According to the Crain’s Grand Rapids Business report, NielsenIQ ranked Bell’s Brewery as the 11th largest craft vendor last year with sales of nearly $112.4 million, a year-over-year increase of 6.5%. Bell’s also grew its production volume by 7.1%.
Bells ranked just below Founders Brewing Co., which had sales of $125.9 million, a 2.2% increase. Production volumes dipped 0.6% for Grand Rapids-based Founders, which is owned by the Spanish brewer conglomerate Mahou San Miguel.
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