Cervecería Allende wants to flood the United States and Europe with its foam.

Published February 17th, 2022

Cervecería Allende wants to set a milestone in the Mexican craft beer market: consolidate its presence in the United States and position itself as the leading player in the category in Mexico.

The company, which was founded in 2014, emerged with the idea of extolling products made in Mexico just at a time when the country’s two large brewing groups, Grupo Modelo and Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, were acquired by international giants.

Rodrigo Moncada, CEO of Cervecería Allende, says that six years after the creation of the brand, which operates from San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, they are ready to consolidate their growth, and to this end, they have begun the search for Mexican investors.

“We have grown up and we are in a stage that we see as adolescence. We decided it was time to change and to do so we decided to look for investors: independent Mexican capital to help us grow and position ourselves where we want to be,” says Moncada.

Growing in the United States
After the first stage, the resources were provided by the group of partners and family members, going out to look for investment funds interested in the project was quite an adventure.

Now, after knocking on several doors, Moncada says that they are about to close an investment round, of which they did not share details, but they did share the goal: “The idea is to become the leading beer at a national level in at least three years and at an international level to remain at number one, because now, by volume we are the third,” he explains.

The investment, which is expected at the end of March, will be used to increase production capacity, which now exceeds 5,000 hectoliters per year. It will also be used to develop and strengthen distribution channels, marketing, and the creation of a line of canned beer, which will address the shortage of glass bottles, which the sector has been experiencing since last year.

While the idea is to consolidate in Mexico, where the brand already has a presence in most states with a strong presence in the Bajío area, Mexico City, and the Riviera Maya, it will also seek to increase exports to the United States, especially in California and Texas.

Europe, the next step
Cervecería Allende bears the name of a city that is considered a world cultural heritage site, known for its baroque architecture, with the parish of San Miguel Arcángel, which appears on its label.

Now, after consolidating its local sales, Cervecería Allende also seeks to take its beers to markets such as Spain, Germany, and Japan, through alliances with distribution companies that have accompanied them to make their way into stores and restaurants in these countries, and the plan is to strengthen these direct distribution channels.

“Little by little we have been finding the market, and what has helped us is our product and our history. In addition to having the board of directors always thinking about how to solve challenges and be attentive to customer needs, this has allowed us to reach different countries internationally,” he shares.