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New Zealand is now home to more breweries per capita than the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States…but that’s just the beginning.
An industry report put together by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, has found that New Zealand’s brewing industry is worth $2.3 billion and that there are now more breweries per capita than anywhere else in the world.
The Herald is reporting that “New Zealand has 4.6 breweries for every 100,000 people in the country, Britain has 3 breweries for every 100,000 people, Australia 2 per capita and the United States 1.96.” And while acknowledging that some “states in the US, such as Washington and Oregon, have higher numbers of breweries per capita,” as a country New Zealand is now the global leader.
And as the Brewers Association of New Zealand executive director Dylan Firth told the New Zealand Herald, he expects to see more growth…
“We’ve got the most breweries per capita but that doesn’t mean we’re saturated,” Firth said. “If you look at markets like Oregon and Washington, there’s still room for growth – I think we’ll see more breweries open.”
“There’s been a big burst of breweries opening in the past five to 10 years … and a lot are moving to the craft model where a lot of beer is sold on site, to the customer direct.”
The report outlined that the country’s craft beer sector, which has been growing rapidly since 2008, represented 10 percent of all sales last year.
And Firth doesn’t think the craft segment has reached a saturation point either…
“I don’t think we’ve reached peak craft yet. Craft isn’t the biggest segment of the market – it’s relatively small. We see craft growing and we see other areas growing like the low and no-alcohol beers.”
“In terms of quality and the beers we produce, I think we’re punching well above our weight.”
According to the report, New Zealand’s beer industry contributed $646 million to GDP in the year to March 2018 and breweries like Wellington’s Garage Project are now attracting beer tourists from all around the world. Visitors to New Zealand spent $242m on beer last year, a number that is projected to grow.
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