10


Q1 • 2023


BRANDS WE LOVE


Brands We Love


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ike so many great entrepreneurial ideas, the birth of Athletic Brewing Company in


2017 was a very personal one. Cofounder Bill Shufelt had quit drinking alcohol a few years earlier to train for an ultramarathon, and while he liked the way his new lifestyle made him feel, he still longed for the taste of a good craft beer. Frustration with poor-tasting nonalcoholic beverages and a boatload of research opened his eyes to the fact that he was not alone. The demand for a great-tasting nonalcoholic beer— and the opportunity to carve a nonalcoholic niche—was out there, even if the nonalcoholic beer industry was very much in its infancy.


How big was the niche? In April of 20


w big was the niche? In April of 2022,


when the Brewers Association released its annual ranking of the top 50 Producing US Craft Brewing Companies (based on barrels sold in 2021), Stratford, Connecticut-based Athletic Brewing Company was 27th on the list, despite being just five years old and not selling alcohol. Before launching, Shufelt spent two years


researching his business idea and the brewing industry. By talking to retailers and conducting surveys, he learned that among the 30 percent of Americans who don’t drink alcohol, plenty were, like him, skipping potential drinking gatherings altogether because there was no healthy alternative to alcohol. This trend was especially true in the health-conscious millennial and Gen Z demographics. Shufelt spoke with a long list of brewers


before he found John Walker, an award-winning head brewer in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who understood the concept Shufelt was selling and agreed to be cofounder and head brewer. The plan was to provide an alternative for health- minded people who liked the taste of a great craft beer in various styles and flavors, but not


That fi rst round of funding allowed Athletic to expand their marketing as well, adding an ambassador program and sprinkling in some TV advertising.


the hang with it. The c impact within local c ehouse in Str


the hangovers or hinderances that often come with it. The cofounders also wanted to make an impact within local communities.


s or hinder es that of en c s also w ed to make an


They started with home-brewing kits in a warehouse in Stratford. Once the beer started to taste good, they went to bigger breweries, hoping to contract out their brewing. Everyone rejected them, which turned out to be a lucky break. With the help of a $3 million Series A funding round in their first year, Athletic built its own brewery in Stratford. In 2020, they would open a second one in San Diego. That first round of funding allowed Athletic to expand their marketing as well, adding an ambassador program and sprinkling in some TV advertising. Nonalcoholic beer is now the industry’s


y star ed with home-br wing kits in a d. Once the beer star


o taste good, they went to bigger br


fastest-growing segment, and Athletic Brewing is the category leader. The company’s beers have won multiple gold medals by “using an innovative, proprietary method of brewing beer without alcohol . . . that doesn’t compromise


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