Practical Pathways to Profitable Wholesale Growth

The wholesale beer marketplace is more competitive than ever, and too many breweries enter it without a clear understanding of the production scale required to achieve sustainable margins. This session breaks down proven strategies for accessing scale—whether through contract brewing, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), or expanding your own facility—and examines the financial realities of each. Using real-world examples, including Wormtown Brewery’s cost structure before and after acquisition, listeners will gain an unvarnished look at the economics behind each path to scale and how those choices directly impact profitability.

Learning Objectives:

• Evaluate different pathways to scale—including contract brewing, M&A, and self-expansion—and determine which best fits your business model
• Understand the true cost structures associated with each approach, using real brewery data and scenarios
• Identify key operational and financial indicators that signal whether a brewery is ready to compete sustainably in wholesale
• Avoid common pitfalls that lead to unprofitable wholesale operations