CCCiAdmin
22/12/08, 15:13
Don Graham, for Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, welcomed the guest speaker Shelagh Ferguson Managing Director of the Whitehaven Brewing Company.
Shelagh gave a talk entitled ‘Life at the Sharp End’ about the trials and tribulations of managing and growing a micro-brewery business. Much of her experience could be applied to any established small business planning growth.
Shelagh’s Presentation
As the MD of a very small company my role is multi-faceted. One minute I am a receptionist, the next an accounts clerk, next a micro-biologist and the out in the yard to help unload the malt wagon.
The Whitehaven Brewing company produces 1500 casks of real ale a year and it is a very personal business. It’s 1st brew was launched on 1st Dec 2007.
I knew nothing about beer when I started, though typically I thought I knew it all. I started out doing 2 to 3 afternoon a week a company secretary to help out a friend. Now we are friends no longer, as the dream turned into reality.
Which is that I have had no weekends off in the last 18 months, and I usually work a 14 hour day. A small business needs a dynamic, flexible management team if it is to grow.
In the brewing industry all recipes are in archaic terms. I needed months to get to grips with the conversions. Some brewers are real ale enthusiasts, but I had to learn from the beginning. Working to ensure consistency of product. But real ale is a live product, with a 6 week shelf life. It matures in the cask and changes character.
There are currently 28 micro-breweries in Cumbria. With a range of production capacities from ½ barrel to 20 barrels producing from 6 to 60 casks per week.
Large breweries tend to base their operations on ‘accountants’ rules where the Whitehaven Brewing Company has to follow customer demand. Great benefits are derived from being in close contact with customers. I invest a lot of time in visiting Landlords and like to maintain the flexibility to respond to demand. The customer is very fickle and consistency is the key. Lots of factors can go wrong, but I have physically removed our beer from pubs if reports come back of it tasting bad (Landlord not looking after it properly).
That’s why I try to keep the customer base local, customers like to drink a locally produced beer. Branded glasses distributed by large breweries confuse the picture. Micro breweries can’t afford to copy them. In the industry it a ‘size divide’ not a ‘North-South Divide’.
I like to keep the supply chain short and sell direct.
Through a Pubco you can sell through a central scheme, but a £55 barrel becomes a £106 barrel and the Landlord makes very little profit. Prices are determined by the market, there are no set prices. The pricing structure of the brewing industry needs to change to encourage stability.
£55 per barrel covers costs and a small profit margin.
The industry is currently being demonised by the press but real ale brewers are not responsible for binge drinking.
Raw Material Costs doubled in the first year of trading and the big brewers employ tactics to dissuade landlords from selling real ales. So why do I carry on?
Not making a huge amount of money and some customers are going bust without paying their bills but I have money invested and there are people employed. The real ale sector has great growth potential. People are drinking at home and not drinking as much when the go out. Demand for bottle beers is rising and customers are looking for a quality product.
‘Cumbrian Real Ales’ could be a great marketing umbrella and branding.
I’m still very positive, there is no place for pessimism. There is great satisfaction in being a ‘producer’.
The brewery is sited in Ennerdale, Whitehaven is not a real ale town. However would like to move out of current premises which has issues.
Converted Barn with power issues, shared phone lines, too warm in summer, too cold in winter. There are also problems with access. Looking for premises in Whitehaven, hopefully with room to expand and possibly own outlet (pub), which is the best way to maximise profit. Also looking into the potential of developing a distribution network.
There is plenty of business support, but what do you do when the grant money runs out?
Christmas brew is ‘Darkest Ennerdale’
Ticklers and Scoopers are a real ale version of train spotters, they visit pubs taking surreptitious samples for analysis.
Sheila then took questions from the attendees.
There being no other business Don Graham closed the meeting.
Shelagh gave a talk entitled ‘Life at the Sharp End’ about the trials and tribulations of managing and growing a micro-brewery business. Much of her experience could be applied to any established small business planning growth.
Shelagh’s Presentation
As the MD of a very small company my role is multi-faceted. One minute I am a receptionist, the next an accounts clerk, next a micro-biologist and the out in the yard to help unload the malt wagon.
The Whitehaven Brewing company produces 1500 casks of real ale a year and it is a very personal business. It’s 1st brew was launched on 1st Dec 2007.
I knew nothing about beer when I started, though typically I thought I knew it all. I started out doing 2 to 3 afternoon a week a company secretary to help out a friend. Now we are friends no longer, as the dream turned into reality.
Which is that I have had no weekends off in the last 18 months, and I usually work a 14 hour day. A small business needs a dynamic, flexible management team if it is to grow.
In the brewing industry all recipes are in archaic terms. I needed months to get to grips with the conversions. Some brewers are real ale enthusiasts, but I had to learn from the beginning. Working to ensure consistency of product. But real ale is a live product, with a 6 week shelf life. It matures in the cask and changes character.
There are currently 28 micro-breweries in Cumbria. With a range of production capacities from ½ barrel to 20 barrels producing from 6 to 60 casks per week.
Large breweries tend to base their operations on ‘accountants’ rules where the Whitehaven Brewing Company has to follow customer demand. Great benefits are derived from being in close contact with customers. I invest a lot of time in visiting Landlords and like to maintain the flexibility to respond to demand. The customer is very fickle and consistency is the key. Lots of factors can go wrong, but I have physically removed our beer from pubs if reports come back of it tasting bad (Landlord not looking after it properly).
That’s why I try to keep the customer base local, customers like to drink a locally produced beer. Branded glasses distributed by large breweries confuse the picture. Micro breweries can’t afford to copy them. In the industry it a ‘size divide’ not a ‘North-South Divide’.
I like to keep the supply chain short and sell direct.
Through a Pubco you can sell through a central scheme, but a £55 barrel becomes a £106 barrel and the Landlord makes very little profit. Prices are determined by the market, there are no set prices. The pricing structure of the brewing industry needs to change to encourage stability.
£55 per barrel covers costs and a small profit margin.
The industry is currently being demonised by the press but real ale brewers are not responsible for binge drinking.
Raw Material Costs doubled in the first year of trading and the big brewers employ tactics to dissuade landlords from selling real ales. So why do I carry on?
Not making a huge amount of money and some customers are going bust without paying their bills but I have money invested and there are people employed. The real ale sector has great growth potential. People are drinking at home and not drinking as much when the go out. Demand for bottle beers is rising and customers are looking for a quality product.
‘Cumbrian Real Ales’ could be a great marketing umbrella and branding.
I’m still very positive, there is no place for pessimism. There is great satisfaction in being a ‘producer’.
The brewery is sited in Ennerdale, Whitehaven is not a real ale town. However would like to move out of current premises which has issues.
Converted Barn with power issues, shared phone lines, too warm in summer, too cold in winter. There are also problems with access. Looking for premises in Whitehaven, hopefully with room to expand and possibly own outlet (pub), which is the best way to maximise profit. Also looking into the potential of developing a distribution network.
There is plenty of business support, but what do you do when the grant money runs out?
Christmas brew is ‘Darkest Ennerdale’
Ticklers and Scoopers are a real ale version of train spotters, they visit pubs taking surreptitious samples for analysis.
Sheila then took questions from the attendees.
There being no other business Don Graham closed the meeting.