Historic brand sets sights on international expansion
One company currently successfully flying the flag for Wales globally is the UK’s oldest lager brand, Wrexham Lager. With a storied history dating back to 1882, production ceased at the turn of the millennium before being revived in the 2010s by a local consortium.
Fast forward to the present day and the company is now co-owned by Hollywood superstars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and is riding high on the wider success of Wrexham since the pair took over the football club back in 2021.
Raising profile overseas
International expansion is a key part of their growth plan, beginning with a heavy focus on North America, as well as increasing the company’s footprint in Australia, Scandinavia and eastern Europe. For CEO James Wright, raising its profile overseas also helps with its plans closer to home, such as to considerably upscale its brewery in the centre of the city.
“In the last 15 months we’ve looked at how we build this brand moving forward. Key to this is taking a targeted approach to turning a regional brand into a national one within the UK, before increasing our footprint overseas,” says James Wright, CEO at Wrexham Lager.
Comprehensive package of support
Due to the impact of its owners, Wrexham Lager’s experience of growing its brand overseas may differ to others, however Wright feels there is good support on offer from the Welsh Government for those looking to expand into new markets.
“We have a fantastic cluster system in Wales. There’s an Export Cluster and a CEO Cluster, for example. The wealth of information that you can get from other businesses, the Welsh Government and the supporting agencies is second to none,” says Wright.
“There is also help with data, as well as funding to get to new markets, but you need to make sure you have a very clear strategy and business plan before you do that.”
Looking to the future, for Wright it’s about leveraging their current influence to build the brand globally, but also to work with Brand Wales to continue increasing overseas recognition for produce from Wales.
“We very much see this as an opportunity for a partnership approach, where we can work together to generate both inward and outward investment in Wales,” adds Wright.
