Talking to The Morning Advertiser, Payne said business was incredibly tough for the Welsh brewer that focuses fully on brewing now and for the wider brewing and pubs sector.
He said: “The challenge is bloody tough and it’s sad to see brewers close and it’s sad to see pubs on the high street close.
“There’s some good operators still there and they’re still driving it and there’s some great brewers still driving it. We’ve got to work together to support each other.”
He continued: “People are more considerate around what they’re drinking. They’re drinking better. The premiumisation continues.
“People are drinking less, they’re more considered and they’re drinking better, which is great.
Massive land grab
“Post-Covid, the big brewers did a massive land grab. Whereas back in the day they might own 60% of the bar and that allowed 40% for local and regional brewers, now they own it all. For small, local regional brewers, it’s tough but 65% of the on-trade is still free trade and independent.”
He added the combination of cost pressures including rates, the introduction of the DRS, EPR, tax, national insurance contributions and minimum wage hikes are “squeezing every penny out”.
Payne added: “You’ve got to pass price increases on and your margins are getting slimmer. We need more people on the street but we can’t afford to employ more people so you’ve got to work smarter.”
On the future of the business, Payne explained Brains is located in a state-of-the-art brewery in Cardiff Bay, which is a “phenomenal site”. He added there is space within it because six or seven years ago, there were about 200 staff there but the new, more agile business employs about 30 people.
The city is walkable and holds strong attractions in the form of a castle, a buzzing atmosphere, the home of Welsh rugby, plenty of shopping available and a new music arena and metro system on the way.
We’ve got the history
Payne said: “If you go to Dublin, where do you go? You go to the Guinness Storehouse, you drink Guinness and you go to the ‘experience’.
“In Cardiff, the first thing you see when you get off of the train is the great big chimney from the old Brains Brewery that’s got Brains written down it. You walk around the city centre, there’s pubs selling Brains, there’s Brains in stained glass windows on the front of pubs, on transport bridges – it’s everywhere.
“We’ve got space, we own the space, we’ve got abundance of history. We’re working with Welsh Government, Cardiff Capital Region and Cardiff Council, on plans to turn our brewery into a visitor centre, museum, a community space and a taproom.
“The infrastructure around us is there, the development is there, people want to drink in different places. Why wouldn’t you come and do the Brains Experience, get on the beer bus, come out to the Brains Brewery, do the tour, do the experience, sit in a bar, drink the best Welsh beer?
“We can have a massive impact on the immediate and wider South Wales community with our business.”
