Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company is selling its sudsy creations to an unlikely buyer: its employees.
To celebrate its 10th anniversary the Vankleek Hill craft brewery is offering employees the chance to buy into an Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP). The ESOP offering would give the company’s more than 150 full-time employees a financial stake in the brewery.
Beau’s CEO Steve Beauchesne hopes this initiative will ensure the popular brewery remains an independent, strong national and local brand.
“It’s the right thing to do,” Beauchesne told CTV Ottawa. “To me it’s an important way to protect the legacy of our brewery and protect our independence and not just for now but for the future,” he said.
Beau’s was founded on July 1, 2006 by Beauchesne and his a father as a way to bring flavourful beer to Eastern Ontario. The craft brewery is now run by a group of family and friends and employs more than 150 full-time and part-time employees.
Beauchesne broke the news to his employees on Monday, initially telling them the company was up for sale after 10 successful years.
“We started off kind of sober, saying the industry is changing; there is lots of consolidation,” he said. “Then we started naming employees and when people started hearing that we were not being sold to a global multi-national company, just cheers went up and people started crying,” Beauchesne said.
Craft breweries have expanded in recent years, with more and more opening all the time. But as the industry expands and multi-national companies buy out smaller breweries, Beauchesne said he is worried the ‘craft’ label will eventually become a “commoditized, globalized word that is slapped on any beer.”
By selling Beau’s to its employees Beauchesne said he has an exit plan that will preserve his family-oriented brewery if his own family decides not to take over when he retires from the business.
“By putting this employee ownership plan in place now I’ve ensured that when and if I want to start selling shares, there is already a program in place. I don’t have to worry there is no one available to purchase it,” he said.
Interestedemployees can start purchasing shares equal to a minimum of 2 per cent of their annual salary starting on July 1st, 2016.
Beau’s is known for its flagship Lug-Treat, Kissmeyer Nordic Pale Ale and the Tom Green Beer. The brews can currently be purchased in Ontario, Quebec and New York, with plans to expand throughout Canada. The company is about to launch in Manitoba, and New Brunswick, with launches in Nova Scotia, British Columbia, Alberta and PEI expected towards the end of 2016.
