As sales of Vizzy, Coors Seltzer and Blue Moon LightSky continue to soar nationwide, as of this week Molson Coors Beverage Company (NYSE: TAP; TSX: TPX) has now officially increased production capacity by more than 400% for the suite of innovations at the company’s Fort Worth and Milwaukee breweries. Featuring new canning lines and a state-of-the-art filtration system, the company will be able to quintuple its production of the new products as well as other beverages in Molson Coors’ rapidly growing portfolio.
The expansions come at a time when the company believes it is uniquely positioned to align with consumers’ desires for a variety of beverage choices. Vizzy, Coors Seltzer and Blue Moon LightSky are three of the top 20 best-selling new innovations in beer and flavored malt beverages YTD, per Nielsen.
“We’ve seen tremendous growth in Vizzy, Coors Seltzer and LightSky since each of these products were introduced earlier this year, and we’re full steam ahead from a production standpoint,” said Brian Erhardt, chief supply chain officer at Molson Coors. “These investments will allow us to keep up with demand as we work to aggressively grow our above premium portfolio and prepare for additional product launches that the revamped Fort Worth and Milwaukee breweries are able to handle.”
The changes at both locations were accomplished in minimal time to keep up with the demand for the new beverages. In Milwaukee, the company invested in a brand-new can filler, allowing the brewery to package nearly 2,000 cans of Blue Moon LightSky per minute for the citrus wheat beverage that is the No. 1 new beer of 2020, per Nielsen. Molson Coors invested millions of dollars to install new equipment at the Fort Worth Brewery to further modernize the facility and the new changes became operational right before the Thanksgiving holiday.
The increased capabilities are the latest in a series of moves Molson Coors has made in executing their revitalization plan to build on the strength of its iconic core, aggressively grow its above premium portfolio, expand beyond beer, invest in its capabilities, and support the company’s people and communities.
Molson Coors recently completed a new brewery near Vancouver, British Columbia, and also plans to open a new brewery in Montreal in late 2021. It also recently announced a substantial investment in the company’s Rocky Mountain Metal Container can plant in Golden, Colorado, a joint venture with Ball Corp., that will enable the joint venture to produce an additional 750 million slim cans per year.
And over the last three months, the company formed a joint venture with Yuengling, announced it will bring Topo Chico Hard Seltzer to the U.S. in 2021, launched a slate of new non-alc products as it expands its portfolio beyond beer and formed a partnership with La Colombe to distribute their ready-to-drink products.
About Molson Coors Beverage Company
For over two centuries Molson Coors has been brewing beverages that unite people for all of life’s moments. From Coors Light, Miller Lite, Molson Canadian, Carling, and Staropramen to Coors Banquet, Blue Moon Belgian White, Blue Moon LightSky, Vizzy, Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy, Creemore Springs and more, Molson Coors produces some of the most beloved and iconic beer brands ever made. While the company’s history is rooted in beer, Molson Coors offers a modern portfolio that expands beyond the beer aisle as well.
The company’s commitment to raising industry standards and leaving a positive imprint on our employees, consumers, communities and the environment is reflected in Our Imprint and our 2025 sustainability targets. To learn more about Molson Coors Beverage Company, visit molsoncoors.com, MolsonCoorsOurImprint.com or on Twitter through @MolsonCoors.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. federal securities laws. Generally, the words “believe,” "aims," “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “project,” “will,” “outlook,” "desire," and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historic in nature. Statements that refer to projections of our future financial performance, our supply chain capacity, future product demand and our ability to meet this demand, cost savings and trends in our businesses, and other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements, and include, but are not limited to, expectations regarding our supply chain capacity, consumer preferences, performance of our innovations, our revitalization plan announced in 2019 and profitability. Although Molson Coors believes that the assumptions upon which its forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these assumptions will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Molson Coors’ historical experience, and present projections and expectations are disclosed in Molson Coors’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). These factors include, among others, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the impact of increased competition resulting from further consolidation of brewers, competitive pricing and product pressures; health of the beer industry and our brands in our markets; economic conditions in our markets; changes in our supply chain system; availability or increase in the cost of packaging materials; success of our joint ventures; changes in legal and regulatory requirements, including the regulation of distribution systems; increase in the cost of commodities used in the business; the impact of climate change and the availability and quality of water; loss or closure of a major brewery or other key facility; our ability to implement our strategic initiatives; our ability to maintain good labor relations; our ability to maintain brand image, reputation and product quality; and other risks discussed in our filings with the SEC, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified by such cautionary statements and by reference to the underlying assumptions. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. We do not undertake to update forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Contacts:
Marty Maloney
Martin.maloney@molsoncoors.com
