Athletic Brewing secures $50M funding, skyrocketing valuation to $800M

Athletic Brewing, at the forefront of the nonalcoholic beer trend, has secured a substantial funding round that values the company at approximately $800 million. Led by General Atlantic,  the $50 million equity-financing round has doubled the company’s valuation from two years ago.

Founded in 2017, Athletic now reigns as America’s top nonalcoholic beer brand, outpacing competitors like Heineken and Budweiser in US grocery sales. It has 19% of the US market share for nonalcoholic beer.

Last year, it sold over 258,000 barrels, ranking among the top 20 US breweries, per NielsenIQ data.

Athletic plans to use the new funds to expand, including acquiring a third US brewing facility to double its capacity amid a rising demand as an increasing number of Americans (more than 40%) want to consume less alcohol.

Between April 2022 and September 2023, sales of nonalcoholic beers shot up 32% in the country and averaged 31% over the last four years, according to NielsenIQ data.

Meanwhile
Carlsberg has agreed to buy soft-drink marker Britvic for ~$4.23 billion (3.3 billion pounds) to expand in the nonalcoholic beverage market. The offer of 1,315 pence per Britvic share includes a 29.6% premium. 

The acquisition supports Carlsberg’s growth strategy beyond beer and strengthens its Western European footprint.