Non-alcoholic beer brand Heaps Normal has raised $8.5 million in capital in a bid to scale its operations to keep up with demand.
Andy Miller, Heaps Normal’s chief executive, said the business has spent the last six months selling beer faster than they can make it, and now it wants to be the biggest non-alcoholic beer brand in Australia.
“When we launched we thought there were probably a few people like us who wanted to cut back on the booze, but didn’t necessarily identify as sober – turns out there’s a lot more people in that camp than we first thought,” Miller said.
“We’ve worked really hard to develop a great tasting beer that can stand up to a full-strength flavour, but we also feel super fortunate to have tapped into a culture shift away from the stigma traditionally associated with cutting back on the booze.”
The cash investment will see Heaps Normal build a dedicated production facility which will let it chase a larger market share of the non-alcoholic market – aiming to hit 20 per cent market share by 2025.
Who Gives a Crap founder Simon Griffiths, who invested in the campaign, said Heaps Normal has created a wholly unique position in the market that reflects current social and cultural trends.
“This is a product and a brand that all beer drinkers can get behind, not just those who are abstaining. That kind of cultural relevance combined with social impact is what excites me the most,” said Griffiths.
“I can’t think of an example before now of a non-alc brand that has been cooler than an alcoholic brand.”
