Meet the Belfast man brewing a successful global brand, which is set to double its sales this year to £4million

The young Belfast man behind one of the UK’s fastest growing independent beer brands is coming home to inspire the city’s future entrepreneurs.

Alan Mahon, the 33-year-old founder and CEO of Glasgow-based Brewgooder, will give a talk at a special free event at Innovation Factory on Friday, September 15 about how his passion for beer and helping disadvantaged communities led to the creation of this impact brand, which is set to double its sales this year to £4million.

At the Brewing Ideas and Crafting a Business seminar, sponsored by Belfast City Council, Innovation Factory and Pacem, Alan will explain how the company’s ethical purpose is an integral part of its growth and is leading to it being one of the UK’s fastest growing beer brands.

He explained: “We don’t see ourselves as a craft beer brand - we are an impact brand in beer. Because we brew beer to empower the lives of others, we have the support of a loyal community of customers who like our beer and the ethos behind the business. People want products with sustainability and ethics at their core. The more beer we sell, the more projects we can support, building a feel-good flywheel.”

His journey started when he fell ill in Nepal from drinking contaminated water and that inspired him to create a business that would fund clean water projects with every beer sold. He teamed up with friend and business partner James Hughes, launching the company in 2016 on World Water Day.

The company has now impacted the lives of 170,000 people in 15 countries providing more than 200 million litres of clean water. In 2019, 2021, and 2022 the company was awarded 'Best for the World' by B Lab, as one of the highest rated B-Corp brands in the world.

A new collaboration with Brooklyn Brewery involves the use of the west African grain fonio, making this the UK's first ever 'at scale' fonio grain beer but also a product that gathers learnings for more sustainable brewing.

The company also formed The Brewgooder Foundation at the outset of its launch in 2016, which is supported by an independent board of Trustees and experts and grants funds to inspiring projects that help empower communities and aims to enable opportunities for one million people by 2030.

On his visit to Belfast, Alan who is originally from the Glen Road, will provide inspiration and practical advice to people who want to start or grow their own business.

Alan added: “Belfast is a very different city from when I left Northern Ireland to go to university in Glasgow in 2008. More opportunity exists for entrepreneurs now and we have a tremendous amount of human capital and potential in the city. It’s a really good moment in time to encourage, support and enable entrepreneurship but with additional focus on scaling up exciting new ideas.”

Innovation Factory, which is hosting the event, is owned by Belfast City Council and operated on its behalf by Oxford Innovation Space. The £9.1m business hub was funded by Belfast City Council and Invest NI with support from the European Regional Development Fund.

Innovation Factory Centre Director Neil Allen said: “Belfast is a centre for innovation and creative new ideas and Alan will share his experiences of creating and scaling up a global brand with a clear message and a positive impact on society. As the home of entrepreneurship in West Belfast, Innovation Factory is the perfect place to tell this incredible story that will inspire young entrepreneurs to pursue their business dreams.”

To book a place at this free event, go to here.