24 minute read
Supplier News Updates from SIBA’s Supplier Associate Members
S USTAINABILIT Y IN BREWING
Muntons wins Global Brewing Supplier of the year award
Muntons has been announced as the winner of the Global Brewing Supply Awards 2022 at the 11th RMI World Barley, Malt and Beer conference held in Antwerp, Belgium in March.
The award highlights excellence in the supply of malt products to the brewing industry throughout the world and is highly competitive. Muntons was selected in recognition of its outstanding programme of sustainability commitment and action. The company started its sustainability journey back in 2007 because it was the right thing to do and has continued momentum ever since. In the past few years, it has invested in a biomass plant at its Bridlington site, an anaerobic digester at its Stowmarket site and this year has opened the doors to a new biomass energy centre at its headquarters in Stowmarket. Once fully on stream, the firm anticipates it will have decarbonised its maltings by a staggering 83%*. Muntons is not only limiting its actions to its own business but working collaboratively across the supply chain. Developing partnerships with UK farmers to grow 100% sustainable barley and working with them and global brewers, Heineken, to pioneer regenerative agriculture trials with the aim of growing carbon negative barley. Mark Tyldesley, Group Managing Director of Muntons, said: “This is an award that recognises the outstanding achievements we have delivered together in sustainability so far and gives us every incentive to do even more. Everyone who works at and with Muntons should be very proud of the work we have all done. The leadership and example we have been able to show on sustainability is inspiring our entire industry.” *Scope 1 & 2 emissions
Find out more at www.muntons.com
Sustaining the ‘pour’ and saving water with the Vegapoint 21
Vega’s innovative new point level switch, the Vegapoint 21, has been installed at Bell’s Brewery in Comstock, Michigan, in the first installation of its kind in the US.
The switch solves a major issue for brewers while being kinder to the environment. With every batch, beer ingredients ferment, and as they ferment, carbon dioxide (CO2) forms. The right amount of CO2 is good for beer. It’s a sign of healthy fermentation, which turns sugars into alcohol and gives it the sudsy quality we all know and love. During this process, however, excess CO2 forms, and it needs a place to go. That’s where the foam trap comes in. The CO2 gas can’t be directly vented into the cellar space where people are working because it would create a dangerous work environment. The CO2 can’t be directly vented outside, either, because beer foam commonly travels with the gas. Instead, as pressure builds in the fermentation vessel, the excess CO2 and some foam travel into the foam trap. As the excess CO2 and the foam fill the foam trap vessel, the foam is suppressed by spraying water on top of it with a spray ball. At the same time, a valve at the bottom of the vessel opens and drains the excess water. Without any instrumentation on this vessel, the spray ball would constantly run water, whether excess foam was present or not, only to eventually flow down the drain. Operating the foam trap this way wastes water, and Bell’s saw this as an opportunity to reduce their water consumption. To achieve overall control of the process, they needed two point level switches – one that could switch the spray ball on when it sensed the foam was too high and another that would switch the spray ball on if the water level dropped too low. At the same time, Vega was preparing to launch a new set of compact, affordable point level switches specifically designed for the food and beverage industries. The Vegapoint series of capacitance switches hadn’t been launched yet, but Vega Americas had a few early samples available. After learning about Bell’s Brewery’s latest challenge, Vega recommended the upcoming Vegapoint 21 to ensure the water level remained at a safe level.
Find out more at www.vega.com/uk
New CEO at Crisp Malt
Stuart Sands has joined Anglia Maltings (Holdings) as chief executive officer.
The group, which comprises Crisp Malt, EDME and Micronized Food Products, was previously led - and significantly developed - by David Thompson, who sadly passed away last July. In addition to building on David’s legacy, Stuart brings his own skills, ethos and ambitions. “I’ve joined a fantastic business with great people, and am really looking forward to working with them to see just how much more we can achieve for our customers,” he says. “It’ll be an exciting challenge for us to take the already-strong customer support to new levels. That’s as well as driving forward on our sustainability goals and the innovation work with the ingredients we produce.” The most recent of his roles was in the USA with the rapidly expanding Country Malt Group. His five and a half years there, first as director of finance, then general manager, embedded him in the captivating world of malt. During his tenure, the Group served the American craft brewing industry whose members numbered over 10,000. This gave him considerable experience in the craft sector and delivering for customers. A chartered accountant with an MBA (Master of Business Administration), and an impressive track record of leadership with international players, Stuart brings strategic skills, energy and experience to Crisp and Anglia Maltings. “I’ve joined a company with a century and a half of tradition and heritage. That’s a contrast to Country Malt Group’s mere 25 years of operating. There are lessons from the success of the new kid on the block and we’ll be drawing on some of those as we investigate opportunities for the business. We’ll be paying particular attention to the ones that help us deliver more for our customers.”
Find out more at www.crispmalt.com
Worldwide brewers and cider-makers celebrate at industry ‘Oscars’
Winners from across the world have been awarded for their outstanding beers and ciders at the world’s most historic international beer and cider competition, the International Brewing & Cider Awards.
The prestigious ceremony, held at the Guildhall, London in April, crowned 12 trophy winners – nine beers and three ciders – from around the world in their respective categories. They included Yorkshire’s Elvington Brewery, which only started brewing in 2020, which scooped the International Keg Lager Trophy for its Mittel Pils. Tokyo-based Spring Valley Brewery’s Juicy Hop won the Speciality Beer Trophy, while Ise Kadoya Beer, also from Japan, won the Strong Beer award for its Nou ga Trokeru Ultra Heaven 3xIPA. Malta-based Simonds Farsons Cisk won the Non & Low Alcohol category for its Cisk 0.0 and Jersey’s Liberation Brewing Company received the Cask Conditioned Ale trophy. A three-day judging process to decide the winners took place in November 2021 at the National Brewery Centre in Burtonupon-Trent, UK and comprised working professionals in the brewing and cider making industries from across the globe, led by Chair of Beer Judging, Rob McCaig and Chair of Cider Judging, Gabe Cook. The judges were chosen to reflect the current expertise in the tasting and commercial evaluation of beers and ciders going into the market. Ruth Evans MBE, Director of the International Brewing & Cider Awards, said: “Despite being forced to postpone the Awards due to the pandemic, we felt it vital to hold the ceremony to publicly recognise and reward the extraordinary products that have emerged over the past couple of years. Awards like these are so important in raising a company’s profile and help their beers and ciders stand out from the crowd.”
See the full list of winners at www. brewingawards.org/news/internationalbrewing-and-cider-award-winners-2021
Evolution of bottling at Black Sheep Brewery
Evolution Bottling and Packaging Solutions has recently installed and commissioned a new 6,000bph bottling line at Black Sheep Brewery in Masham, North Yorkshire.
Black Sheep Brewery has a long heritage in independent beer production, founded in 1992 by Paul Theakston and now managed by son Rob. Recent expansion of its operations includes a new bottling line installed and commissioned by Evolution’s team of UK based engineers. At the heart of the beer filling line is an MBF Rinser Filler, Crown Capper, filling 500ml glass bottles. Filling represents a critical stage in the life cycle of beer, and for this reason it must be managed with competence and accuracy, maintaining product integrity throughout. Talking of the partnership with Evolution BPS, Managing Director Rob Theakston says: “We wanted a machine that was flexible in terms of pack types given the market, and service and maintenance is really important so having a UK based support team in Evolution was critical to us. We are delighted with the relationship we have forged with Evolution.”
Find out more at www.evolutionbps.co.uk
S USTAINABILIT Y IN BREWING
Thielmann joins keg industry leaders as a founding member of the Steel Keg Association
Thielmann has joined together with other leading keg supply chain players to form the Steel Keg Association.
The Steel Keg Association is a marketingfocused non-profit organisation that aims to increase the volume of beer and other beverages served from stainless steel kegs. These partners include BLEFA, Hillebrand Gori, Micro Matic, MicroStar Logistics, and Schaefer Container Systems. The Steel Keg Association’s mission is underpinned by stainless steel’s sustainability credentials. A single stainless steel keg has an approximate lifespan of over 30 years, and at the end of its life, is 100% recyclable. Combined with quality, durability, and hygiene, this makes stainless steel kegs the optimal choice for transporting and storing beverages. Dan Vorlage, Executive Director of the newly formed association and MicroStar Logistics VP of Global Marketing, said: “When you choose draft from steel kegs, you’re making the most sustainable choice by removing single-use packages from recycling and landfill streams.” Research supports this statement. The new ISO-14040 framework Life Cycle Analysis published by Deloitte demonstrates the use of steel kegs is key to a circular economy. Kyle Tanger, Managing Director of Deloitte’s US sustainability practice, said: “Steel kegs are truly one of the best examples of reusability and circularity, with decades of reuse potential. In the US, compared to single-use containers, steel kegs save over 400,000 metric tons of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) and keep roughly 500,000 tons of packaging out of landfills each year.” The Steel Keg Association’s mission resonates with Thielmann’s commitment to sustainability. We believe that stainless steel will play a vital role in making the brewing and beverage industries environmentally sound, so we can enjoy quality drinks and protect the planet. The Steel Keg Association’s efforts will be focused on the US beer market initially, expanding to the UK and Western Europe later in 2022. We look forward to working with the Steel Keg Association to promote the use of stainless steel kegs as a sustainable solution.
Find out more at www.steelkegassociation.org
Oasthouse Engineering invests in new can printing technology
Oasthouse Engineering is making a £3 million investment in an automated digital printing solution for formed cans.
This will be the first time in the UK that brewers and drinks producers will be able to have printed cans from an MOQ of 1, with a 360-degree print all the way up the neck of the can. The machine will be able to print to 1,200 DPI photo quality graphics with a number of finishes including textured, gloss, matt and patch finishes. Producers will be supporting sustainability with the removal of labels and sleeves whilst being able to choose several options to support their branding and marketing requirements. The machine can handle all can sizes available to the market 150ml and 250ml slim, 330ml, 440,ml, 500ml, 568ml standard and 330ml sleek. The machine will be up and running in September.
Find out more at www.oasthouse-engineering.com
Supplier Viewpoint
Try this sample of Augmented Reality for yourself by scanning the QR Code here and following the instructions on-screen.
The team at LemonTop looks at how AI is already impacting the sector…
“Augmented Reality is transforming the drinks industry and at LemonTop Creative, we have embraced this technology, providing a greater interactive experience for our customers. Augmented reality (AR) is a technology we all have access to through digital devices like mobile phones and tablets, that lets people superimpose digital content (images, sounds, text) over a real-world environment. AR is a great tool to enhance your brewery’s brand awareness to larger audiences. Mobile apps with AR functionality provide a unique brand experience to their users. The use of AR for retail marketing gives a lot of leverage for brewers and suppliers to find ingenious ways for interactions, creating a tunnel for instant feedback. When you’re selling your beers and products online, AR allows you to provide an interactive and visual experience so that customers can have a more detailed picture of your products and brand while shopping, rather than just seeing a twodimensional image on an ecommerce site. Recent studies show that 32% of shoppers regularly use augmented reality and 73% of smartphone AR users are happy with their experiences with it. Augmented Reality statistics prove how the market has adopted the technology and is growing exponentially. We have always been a company that embraces new technology. In fact, it is one of our core values which meant we couldn’t resist AR. The real benefit of AR over VR certainly from a customer’s point of view is their investment is practically zero, as most people these days have a smartphone or tablet. Android and iOS both have built-in technology to have you experience AR in a few clicks. Our latest brochure is full of products to view using AR to make it both a tactile and virtual brochure, giving a truly interactive experience. Newly designed products can now be approved by our customers with full 360 degrees of interaction. You can place the product on the desk in front of you, have one 20 feet tall, and take photographs of them in real-world places such as offices, parks, and supermarket shelves, wherever you take your phone. Our customers also have products they wish to show to potential and existing clients around the world. The cost of shipping, especially in small quantities, can be expensive and time-consuming, so this is where AR can help. AR allows prototype products to be created and accessed anywhere in the world as soon it is ready, with no shipping needed. What is the future of AR in retail? Augmented Reality is often seen as a far-off futuristic technology and a thing of science fiction but that’s not true. AR has already made its way into almost all sectors of the retail industry. We’re not too far from a time when you can be sitting in the comfort of your sofa or drinking your favourite beer in the kitchen, wearing your AR-enabled glasses and experiencing all manner of AR experiences from buying your groceries and checking their ingredients to seeing how your new coffee table might fit with the rest of your furniture without having to step out of the comfort of your home. The challenges with Augmented Reality E-Commerce will also be worked upon. To reach a wider range of customers it will need to be able to retain its existing users. As the technology is worked upon and devices become more affordable and readably available, Augmented Reality E-Commerce will become a part of our everyday lives just as going to the shops and browsing products are today.”
If you would like to know more request an augmented reality brochure by emailing hello@ lemontopcreative.com
Bulk Storage & Process Systems installs new bulk malt silo at Felinfoel Brewery
Felinfoel Brewery, one of the oldest in the UK, has been brewing on its site in Wales since 1878, producing quality cask ales.
The production of its beer in cans commenced in 1935, making it the oldest canner of craft beer in the world. The traditional Mash Room is situated on the top floor of the building and until 2020 50Kg bags of malt were delivered for milling and lifted with a sack elevator. Two years ago a bucket elevator was installed to enable the bags to be unloaded at ground level before being weighed and lifted. Burt with demand to reduce raw material costs the idea of a bulk malt silo was investigated to bring in the malt using 27T bulk lorries thus eliminating the need to handle the bags manually. So Felinfoel looked to Surrey and Northampton based company, Bulk Storage and Process Systems (BSPS) to design and install a bulk malt silo and conveyor to the malt elevator. The design and implementation of the new silo needed to be in keeping with the historic building and BSPS were able to achieve this by designing external wood cladding system around the silo. BSPS undertook all planning, design and installation with their own fitters.
Rudd Macnamara launches new line of tap handles
With the rising popularity of bespoke tap handles to boost the appeal of on bar branding, Rudd Macnamara have added some new products to their portfolio.
Tap handle branding is nothing new, but in the past where they have mostly been popular in the US, the vast majority of offerings here in the UK come from the Far East directly or indirectly via UK agents. “Though we’ve offered simple wooden variants in the past it wasn’t something we were initially seeking to add to our range due to the foreign competition,” MD Chris Dickinson says. “As with all that is going on in the world with pandemics and the attack on Ukraine, businesses the whole world over are being crushed with supply chain issues, massive cost increases on materials and energy, it’s really trying times.” During the lockdown period Rudd had the time to develop and hone their processes that have spanned three centuries no less and make production more efficient across all areas of the business. They have looked closely at the ways in which they can make a slick, quality, low-cost tooled tap handle that is on a swift lead time to customers specification. What Rudd have come up with is in line with their resin filled pump clips. The outer profile can be anything your imagination wants printed externally with your design to either your specification or with advice and input. The business has always had the flexibility to manufacture small and large batch sizes in short or ongoing repeat orders but with new investment in a HP Latex R1000 Printer this now further strengthens the companies capacity for even swifter small batch runs and conversely even larger quantities on time.
Visit www.beerbranding.co.uk or www.ruddmacnamara.com
Clearmark’s flexible labelling system taps into Fourpure’s expansion thirst
Located on London’s famous Bermondsey Beer Mile, the Fourpure Brewing Company recently installed a flexible and moveable case coding system from Clearmark Solutions to complement its £2.5million expansion investment, which now comprises a fully automated canning line.
Replacing a legacy ink coder on the case packing line, the ICE Vulcan print and apply labelling system now fully satisfies supermarket GS1 barcoding requirements by ensuring every single SKU contains a clearly legible Grade A barcode and is positioned in a uniform way. Supplied with a modular conveyor, engineered to address several specific automation challenges, Clearmark designed, built and delivered the print and apply labelling system to accommodate multiple pack formats, in less than 10 weeks. Kurt Fletcher, Packaging Manager at the Bermondsey brewery, said: “Before the Vulcan we were hand labelling boxes for a good percentage of our production runs. It was hard. Either we printed too many labels which meant lots of excess, or too few labels and were running around to source more. The Vulcan on cue printing is great for us and reduces our wastage. The physical application is seamless and places the label in the same spot every time, keeping up with our 30 packs per minute. This would be a tiring and repetitive job for staff to perform.”
Find out more at www.clearmark.uk
Foss launched new BeerFoss FT Go at BeerX 2022
BeerX 2022 provided the perfect platform to launch Foss’s brand new beer analyser to the industry, the BeerFoss FT Go.
It was an opportunity for the Foss team to showcase this innovative analyser and to be able to meet and talk with industry experts nationwide. The BeerFoss FT Go can simultaneously test multiple essential brewing parameters in wort, fermentation and finished beer (at an affordable price!) ...in fact, many delegates tested their own beers on the analyser at the show, whether it was hazy IPA’s, sour and fruity beers and stouts, it was all in a day’s work for the Beerfoss. All were impressed with the ease of use, time it takes to run a test and performance. The fact that it can connect to the cloud and real-time results can be accessed anytime was a huge hit. Users could really see the benefit in tracking the brewing process in a data driven way; it was as they say, a light bulb moment. It was great for the Foss team to hear such positive feedback from the market.
If you are interested in learning more go to www.fossanalytics.com/en/products/ beerfoss-go
Supplier Viewpoint
Style or substance?
In this issue, Myles Pinfold from WPA Pinfold looks at the challenges of building brand equity…
“For brewers across the UK, disruption continues with both brands and beer styles evolving at a phenomenal rate. Whilst there is a rush to be seen to be at the style-driven, cutting edge of the market, this is in the face of the significant challenges of supply chain and pricing, as well as the rapid growth across the rest of the alcoholic drinks sector. Brand planning is a challenge at the best of times, never mind in this unpredictable environment. The USA beer market could help provide insights for those who are reviewing their brand strategies. It has been a bellwether for the craft brewing industry for over two decades, with the likes of Sierra Nevada, Brooklyn, Stone, Odell, Samuel Adams and many other famous names helping to pioneer the craft beer revolution that has made the industry what it is today. Recently the Brewers Association (the trade body for US craft brewers) gave an overview of the state of the sector at its annual conference and there are some interesting learnings and parallels for the UK. Overall annual production for craft beer in the USA in 2021 had bounced back to an all-time high and whilst the volume share for craft of the beer market was over 13%, the value share was double that at a breathtaking almost 27%. This demonstrates a significant and continued growth in the added value category where brand premiumisation is paramount. There are also predictors for how the sector is expanding – with over 9,000 US breweries in 2021 and still growing – however overall expansion is slowing and there is a trend towards the philosophy of ‘small is beautiful’. Brewery taps and brewpubs dominate the market by volume, and percentage growth in microbreweries is significantly outnumbering the regionals. For the US there is also the threat that craft beer is in danger of losing its crown, with the rest of the alcoholic beverages sectors (especially RTDs) moving into the premium beer territory, by applying craft learnings of strong branding and innovation. In my experience, we have largely mirrored the craft beer trends of the US and these statistics provide interesting insights for brewers in the UK who are planning for growth. The key learnings are that premiumisation is still in the ascendancy and whilst there is a growing prevalence of beer styles and innovation, as the Brewers Association report states, ‘brand trumps style’.”
Myles Pinfold is founder and strategic director of WPA Pinfold. Find out more at www.wpa-drinks.co.uk
The Charles Faram International Hop Awards 2022
The Charles Faram International Hop Awards were established to recognise the commitment of growers in the Charles Faram Hop Development Programme.
The programme was set up to develop new varieties and combat environmental issues. The growers are also given in-depth feedback based on characteristics they’re looking for, plus aroma & quality. The results are an excellent way to benchmark best practices and raise quality across all farms. So, who were the winners? The Jester®, Olicana® and Harlequin® Cup are all from the UK, where the programme started, so it’s further ahead in releases and development. These cups were all won by Richard Capper of Stocks Farm in Worcestershire. The overall winner of our commercial varieties again went to Stocks Farm with Harlequin®. It is very apparent that of the 70 varieties judged from different countries around the world, Richard showed consistency in quality and found a formula to be followed. The early-stage variety category was won by Mark Andrews for Charles Faram experimental variety CF276. The winning new variety category was CF321. The feedback and judging means Charles Faram has already instructed CF321 to be propagated ready for the trial plot stage.
Read more at www.charlesfaram. co.uk/news/the-charles-faraminternational-hop-awards-2022/
How to rise to the challenges and sales opportunities of 2022
Supplier Viewpoint
The team at sales-i shares 8 key trends defining 2022 and impacting revenue for the next year…
“The first quarter of 2022 has proved challenging, on the back of two years of the pandemic. We share these key trends to help Brewers maximise the rest of 2022 and beyond. 1) Insights are imperative. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) offer fast-learning of data to improve customer and product insights. From predicting the best products to sell to digging up new opportunities to cross-sell, upsell and link sales. Making sales teams more efficient with that data they need instantly at their fingertips. 2) Attract & retain talent. Many young people in the workforce, want to know how much a potential employer utilises technology, or is willing to embrace innovation as part of their working life. By offering an effective sales enablement tool, to make data-mining less time consuming and be willing to embrace new technology. 3) Create synergy in your team. With teams demanding more hybrid working, comes the challenge of managing more remote teams. Many sales reps are eager to get back on the road, to succeed, your team needs to be unified. A centralised system and sales enablement tool means your team can work flawlessly together, improving efficiency for the team, with full sight across all accounts and opportunities.
4) Personalisation is everything.
Comprehensive business reports for every call is a powerful way to do this, and to quickly react to any slip in sales and pick up the phone. Taking a personalised approach to each customer doesn’t need to take a lot. Instead of personalisation being timeconsuming, make it effortless with sales tech removing the complexity so you can go that extra mile to show customers you care.
5) Customer retention is imperative.
With a shift towards sales teams focusing on cultivating relationships with existing customers, there’s a drive towards better customer relationships. Having the right CRM in place maximises conversations, making sure your customers feel appreciated and no customer is forgotten about.
6) The art of value-selling. People have seen or heard most of the tricks of the trade when it comes to being sold something. “Bonding over football or fishing is no longer enough.” They are able to see right through any sales gimmicks. Sell the value or benefit first, not the product features. With a value-based approach to selling, reps will be able to add more value in their pitches. 7) Digital spaces. More interactions will happen in digital spaces. Be fully informed about what you're (virtually) walking into so sales can be boosted, thanks to insights for cross-selling, upselling and link sales. 8) The power of social selling. Social selling enables salespeople to find, contact, and interact with prospects through social media. When teamed with a value-first approach, you can focus on building genuine connections with prospects and customers. This helps to grown trust in you and your company, and as trust plays such a huge part in the decision process.” sales-i is a sales tool that brewers
