City brewery and brand secures future

Following a prepack administration, the deal will see brewing continue at Mondo’s Battersea site.

The financing will deliver a fresh injection of capital to help drive Mondo’s growth and will allow investment to be made in the brewery’s tap room as well as in additional sales and marketing activities.

Thompson, who is the owner of Surrey-based Hogs Back Brewery, will become chairman of a new company, Mondo Beer, and will be working to support the management team, which is led by Mondo founder and managing director Todd Matteson.

The agreement also means Hogs Back will support Mondo as a sister business in areas such as packaging, sales and marketing while Mondo will be the exclusive distributor in London of beers from Hogs Back new subsidiary One Planet Brewing, which was launched last year and brews with 100% solar power.

Challenging market

Thompson said: “I’ve known and respected the founders of Mondo, Todd and Tom, for several years. We’ve sold their beers in our brewery shop and we brewed a collaboration beer in 2022.

“It is a challenging market but despite that, Mondo has been growing. The beers and branding are excellent and they have a bright future ahead.

“Customers want to see imaginative, independent and local brands that are not owned by global brewers.”

Mondo founder and MD Todd Matteson outlined how the ongoing challenges for the sector had impacted the business.

He added: “We found ourselves in a situation where there is strong demand for our beers but we were hit by all the challenges that have beset so many small brewers.

“It is wonderful Rupert has been able to help and this allows us to move forward. His experience of developing successful beer brands will be invaluable and we’re delighted to have him working with us at Mondo Beer and to have the back up of Hogs Back Brewery.

“We’re also excited to have exclusivity for One Planet beers in London. The 100% solar brewed commitment is completely different and we think it will really resonate with our customers.”

Work together

Thompson believed alliances such as this one offer a way forward for the sector, in light of the growing number of closures it has seen of late.

He said: “I firmly believe now, more than ever, brewers with similar outlooks and independence of spirit need to work together to maintain the diversity at the heart of British beer culture.

“Although Mondo Beer is a standalone business, in terms of synergies with Hogs Back, this is a real town and country alliance.

“By leveraging Mondo’s existing distribution strength in London, more pubs and bars will have direct access to Hogs Back beers, including the flagship Tongham TEA. Crucially, we can also now meet demand from the London market for One Planet beers.

“Partnerships such as this new agreement are one way smaller brewers can continue to compete.

“Global players have taken a lot of share from London’s craft beer market through acquisition but consumers still want choice.”

He went on to say how he expected to see more craft and quality-focused firms working together and he hoped to continue to be part of that process.