Garage Beer – a light beer-maker backed by football stars Travis and Jason Kelce – is now worth roughly $200 million following a funding round as it has skirted a broader decline in sales across the industry, according to a report.
It recently completed its first institutional round of fundraising, securing cash from consumer-focused private-equity investor Durational Capital Management, sources familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal.
Garage Beer, which sells a classic light beer and a lime flavor, is on track to record revenue of $60 million to $70 million this year, according to CEO Andy Sauer.
That’s up from less than $20 million in 2024 as the Kelce brothers’ star status has helped elevate the brand.
Fresh funding will be used to invest in marketing and expand its brands, Garage Beer said.
As part of the deal, Bill Hackett – former head of beer at Constellation Brands – will join the board of directors.
Sales of beer and wine have suffered steep declines as Americans cut back on alcohol for health reasons – including those on weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy – and young adults shun beer in favor of canned cocktails and THC-infused drinks.
Constellation Brands – which owns Modelo and Corona – slashed its annual earnings forecast on Tuesday as it blamed a “challenging macroeconomic environment,” including weak demand from Hispanic consumers, who account for half of beer sales.
Garage Beer’s growth marks a bright spot in the industry, as its light beer options appeal to health-conscious consumers and its marketing zeroes in on younger legal-age drinkers.
Sauer said the company has focused on connecting with customers, trying to respond to every social media message and hosting consumer-focused events.
Garage Beer has found a notable following among millennial and Gen Z drinkers thanks to the Kelce brothers, whose fame has catapulted beyond football as Travis and Taylor Swift’s relationship has dominated headlines.
The football player and pop star’s recent engagement was followed by an explosion of media stores, and the Kelce brothers’ podcast “New Heights” broke a Guinness World Record after it hosted Swift.
Travis and Jason serve as both investors and faces of the beer brand, helping to shape product launches, advertising and the future direction of the business.
Sauer said he even got a call on Labor Day from Jason, who wanted to strategize about the brand.
“It’s pretty emblematic on how they both operate,” Sauer told the Journal. “It’s an always-on relationship. It’s two people with the same vision and belief in beer, jumping into it.”
He declined to comment on whether the beer would be served at the Kelce-Swift wedding.
Durational, which owns fried chicken chain Bojangles, grew interested in Garage Beer because of its innovation in the beer sector, according to Patrick Khayat, a partner at the investment firm.
Others in the light beer space, like Michelob Ultra, which is owned by AB InBev, have also been able to buck a wider sales slump by marketing toward health-conscious consumers.
Michelob has pitched itself as a low-carb, low-calorie option, focusing its marketing efforts on sports and fitness sponsorships, including events like soccer tournaments.
About half of people taking GLP-1 drugs said they cut their consumption of alcohol, sodas and salty snacks by 50% or more since starting the drugs, according to a Morgan Stanley survey of 300 consumers last year.
Twenty-two percent said they stopped drinking alcohol altogether.
That puts alcoholic beverage-makers like Molson Coors, Boston Beer, Constellation Brands and Diageo at the highest risk, Morgan Stanley said.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
