Ambev SA acquires Brazilian craft brewing outfit Cervejaria Colorado

By Frazer Jones

May 17, 2020

undefined mins

Ambev SA is Brazils largest beverage company, as well as an integral part of global beer giant AB InBev. In the United States, fellow AB InBev component...

Ambev SA is Brazil’s largest beverage company, as well as an integral part of global beer giant AB InBev. In the United States, fellow AB InBev component Anheuser-Busch has a reputation for acquiring smaller North American craft breweries (when not railing against the craft industry in marketing). It looks like Ambev SA is following the same strategic business model in South America—this month the company successfully acquired São Paulo-based craft brewing company Cervejaria Colorado.

According to Reuters, Ambev acquired Cervejaria Colorado for an undisclosed sum—but judging by the brewery’s history of profits and creative brews, it seems safe to assume that Colorado had some significant value attached:

Colorado is based in the interior of Brazil's Sao Paulo state and exports its beers, often flavored with coffee, honey or nuts, to France and the United States. The brewer, which was founded in 1996 by businessman Marcelo Carneiro, had revenue of about 19 million reais ($5.96 million) last year, according to analysts.

For major global brewing companies, acquisition has been the name of the game to capture a piece of the growing market share that craft breweries have been rapidly taking over in recent years. AB InBev has made this a policy, as have major competitors like SABMiller who just recently picked up UK-based craft outfit Meantime Brewing Co. So it’s no surprise that this isn’t Ambev SA’s first craft brewery acquisition either:

Ambev, the Brazilian unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA (ABI.BR), snatched up Brazilian craft brewer Wäls in February, folding it into its higher-end Bohemia division. In May, Ambev bought Colombia's largest craft brewer, the Bogotá Beer Company.

According to beer bloggers, this is a promising sign that craft beer is picking up steam as an industry in Brazil and the increased distribution that deal would bring could potentially expose many more Brazilian beer drinkers to the wider variety of beer options out there. If this is the outcome, it could spell a promising future for Colorado and Brazilian beer geeks—and of course for Ambev.

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