Coca-Cola Amatil’s (CCA) Alcohol & Coffee business, which represents brands such as Jim Beam, Coors, and Australian Bitters, revealed its 2016 Financial Year results this week and plans to bolster growth, which include the formation of a new beer and cider team.

Ending on a high, the business recorded double-digit growth across earnings, revenue, and volume. Earnings before interest and tax grew by more than 30 per cent for the second consecutive year to $44.7 million, while trading revenue grew by over 22 per cent to $533.8 million.

The Alcohol & Coffee business unit’s Managing Director, Shane Richardson, said growth was seen across its beer, cider, spirits, bitters and coffee categories, highlighting, in particular, the addition of the Miller beer brands to its portfolio, the launch of Fijian rums Ratu and Bati, and innovation and growth of Canadian Club, Jim Beam, Yenda and the Australian Bitters Company.

Beer and cider have been key focuses for CCA over the last few years and now a new team of ten, led by Judd Michael as Director of Beer and Cider, has been brought on to expand the business’ presence in the two categories.

Yenda is now one of the top ten craft beer brands in the country, while Miller Chill represents Australia’s number one lime-infused beer. CCA’s beer and cider portfolio also includes Blue Moon, Pressman’s and Rekorderlig.

“We’ve got some great beer and cider brands now in our portfolio, so we are adding support to our existing sales force with a complementary team with a high level of capability and experience in the beer and cider categories to drive our brands forward,” Richardson said.

In January and February, The Edrington Group and Zubrowka announced that they would be moving distribution of their brands from CCA to Spirits Platform. Richardson said that while the business wouldn’t be looking to replace the brands to make up numbers, it would be open to considering new brands if they would add value to the organisation.

“We’ll continually look across the width of our portfolio in all of our categories and if those opportunities fit well within out existing business, we’ll be open to having a look,” Richardson said.

Ratu and Bati successfully launched into the Australian marked in September, marking the beginning of a longer-term export strategy to deliver growth for CCA’s Paradise Beverages business.

“Ratu and Bati are long-term propositions for our business because these are CCA-owned brands. We are looking for moderate growth for these brands because we see the potential we have with such an outstanding liquid and great brand positioning; what we don’t want to do is race to the finishing line,” Richardson explained.

CCA’s Australian Bitters Company has also grown and now represent 30 per cent market share. Richardson pointed to the rise in popularity of lemon, lime and bitters and the cocktail occasion.

“We are driving the lemon, lime and bitters occasion because it fits in perfectly with our portfolio with our soft drinks and cordial. We are also seeing bitters being used more and more in cocktails and our product works beautifully in these.”

In terms of future growth, Richardson pointed to coffee in the licensed channel, with new technology developed by the business now giving venues the opportunity to sell coffee at smaller volumes without the worry of wasting leftover beans and granules.

“The machine uses a larger capsule so that you are able to extract a good espresso shot, while the capsule in this format takes out the shelf life issue and the deterioration of the bean from sitting out in the air,” Richardson said.

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