Finance: A craft beer maker has plans for 'world domination'

Scottish craft brewery BrewDog is growing rapidly and has its sights set on world domination.

If BrewDog has its way, their sudsy offerings will be unavoidable all around the globe.

The Scottish craft brewer is planning for "world domination" as it looks to expand into France, Australia and Asia, according to analysts at Bernstein. That involves tripling or even quadrupling sales in France, and identifying China as its top target for untapped growth.

It's been a quick rise to the heavyweight ranks for BrewDog, which has only been in existence since 2007. The company's revenues expanded at a 44% compounded annual growth rate from then through 2015, becoming Scotland's largest independent brewery in the process, and expanding into Sweden, Japan and the US.

BrewDog's swift success caught the eye of US private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners, which purchased 22% of the company for $265 million in April, valuing it at more than $1.2 billion. That investment included $124 million to specifically fund BrewDog's global expansion.

Beer enthusiasts in the US will be pleased to know that BrewDog is currently building a second brewery in Canal Winchester, Ohio, which will add another 400,000 hecoliters of annual capacity.

While BrewDog is enjoying a robust growth story, the larger craft beer industry has felt some pressure of late. It's facing stiff competition from both the macrobrewers that have entered the craft market via acquisition, as well as local microbreweries and brewpubs.

Craft beer industry growth has also been slowing, according to Brewers Association chief economist Bart Watson.

So while BrewDog hasn't yet been tripped up by the increasingly crowded and competitive industry, it faces its biggest test yet as it scales itself to an unprecedented level.

from pulse.ng - Nigeria's entertainment & lifestyle platform online