Beer Distributors
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 1,350 beer distributors in the US are the middlemen between the suppliers (breweries and importers) and the retailers (grocery stores, convenience stores, bars, restaurants, sporting venues etc.). Distributors must provide climate-controlled storage, transportation, and maintenance for perishable malt beverages from the time they leave the brewery until they arrive at the retailer.
Competition from Larger Distributors
Beer distributors are typically small, local operations, but the industry has been consolidating as larger distributors expand through acquisitions.
Shifts in Beer Consumption
Beer’s market share of alcohol consumption is slowly declining due to competition from wine and liquor, as well as health consciousness.
Industry size & Structure
The average beer distributor operates 1-2 warehouses, employs 86 workers and generates about $50 million in annual revenue.
- The US has about 1,350 beer distributors with annual sales of about $68 billion and about 113,000 employees.
- The largest populations of beer distributors include California (209), New York (173), Texas (169), Florida (141) and Pennsylvania (117).
- Average inventory is about $5 million.
- 77% of distributors employ less than 100 employees.
- Top distributors in the US include Reyes Holdings, Goldring Gulf Distributing, Ben E. Keith Beverages, Silver Eagle Distributors LP, and Manhattan Beer Distributors LLC.
- The number of breweries that supply the distribution industry is rapidly increasing. Currently, there are about 9,700 breweries in the US, up from 250 in 1990 and 2,300 in 2010.
Industry Forecast
Beer Distributors Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Apr 20, 2024 - Reason for Optimism
- After a slow start to 2024, distributor ordering levels gained steam in March as the Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) rose to 53 – the first reading above the expansionary benchmark (50) in 2024 and the highest March BPI reading since 2021, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA). The index’s move to expansion territory and increased year-over-year ordering volumes in six of seven measured segments indicate a significant shift toward a more positive outlook for the beer industry this year. Segments posting double-digit gains in March included Premium Regular, Flavored Malt Beverages, and Seltzer. Although still in contraction territory at a reading of 36, the Craft segment saw its highest non-summer season (May-August) ordering levels since April 2022, per the NBWA report.
- The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is considering major revisions to labeling regulations that would affect beer makers, the Brewers Association (BA) reports. Potential changes under consideration by the TTB include mandatory disclosure rules for alcohol content, major allergens, nutritional information, and ingredients. While the BA says it generally supports the disclosures under consideration, which, as in the case of the “big nine” allergens, convey information important to certain consumers, it expressed concern that labeling rules should not unfairly burden small brewers or suppress innovation and creativity and should include reasonable accommodations for small-batch products from producers of all sizes, according to a press release. In comments to the TTB, the BA also recommended that materials consumed or bio-transformed during production or added as processing aids should be excluded from labels if not present in the finished product.
- While small compared with traditional beer segments, non-alcoholic beer is having an outsized impact on the overall US beer market, according to the 2024 Beer Report from Beverage Industry (BI). The proliferation of non-alcoholic beer has allowed the category to retain consumers as beer faces increasing competition from spirits and other alcoholic beverage options, per the report. “Non-alcoholic beers are benefiting from switching within the beer market, so these products are likely aiding in beer buyer retention,” say insight consultants for market research firm Circana. Beverage analysts attribute the rising sales of non-alcoholic beer to better quality and taste and a generational shift in drinking culture, with younger consumers, in particular, drinking less. Given the increase in sales of non-alcoholic brews, beer distributors may want to stock more non-alcoholic beers to compensate for flagging sales of their alcoholic counterparts.
- Anheuser-Busch narrowly avoided a strike by reaching a tentative agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union representing its manufacturing workers, according to HR Dive. Five thousand union members at the nation’s largest brewery had threatened to walk out if a new contract wasn’t reached by the end of February. The new contract secured greater job security for workers at AB plants, which includes brewers, packagers, and production employees, according to the Teamsters. The agreement included wage increases of $8 an hour, a $2,500 ratification bonus, increased pension contributions, restored retirement benefits, and 8 weeks of paid vacation, according to the Teamsters. “After a long day and a longer campaign, we’ve reached an agreement that sets a new high standard for the brewing industry,” Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said. Some 400 workers at Molson Coors’ brewery in Fort Worth, Texas, who walked out in February, remain on strike.
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