Happy Birthday Gen!us (April 2023)

Craft Brand Celebrates 5 Years in Business and Helping to Tackle MND

Genius Brewing is celebrating five years since the launch of its innovative light craft beers. The brainchild of founders Charlie Craig and Jason Clarke, their ‘eureka moment’ was to spot that healthy lifestyle trends would change drinking habits.

Back in 2018, the craft beer revolution had been growing rapidly but brewers seemed to be in an arms race to make the strongest beers at a time when consumers were increasingly wanting healthier options. Brewing great-tasting craft beers with less alcohol and low calories seemed a no-brainer. Charlie and Jason called it 'Smart Drinking'.

It was at the Melrose Sevens in April 2018 that the Glasgow-based business kicked-off their mission to make healthier drinking a pleasure, not a compromise. The iconic rugby event was chosen to highlight the brand’s support for the recently created My Name’5 Doddie Foundation. As Official Fundraising Partners, Genius Brewing donates 5p from every beer to help Doddie Weir’s charity find a cure for Motor Neurone Disease.

Co-founder Jason Clarke said: “Doddie launched his foundation in 2017 as we were gearing-up to launch Gen!us. We’d always wanted a strong CSR agenda and having played rugby with Doddie and had my wife’s father die of MND, partnering with Doddie’s foundation felt a powerful call to action.”

Over the following five years, that partnership saw Genius Brewing donate over £40,000 and actively support numerous foundation events across the UK including DoddieAid which alone raised £2m this year.

Fellow Co-founder Charlie Craig stressed that: “Our support for Doddie’s foundation is about more than just money, we strive to help events and other supporters with their fundraising by offering prizes, social media promotion, and of course lots of craft beer refreshment!”

Jason Clarke added: “Although Doddie is sadly no longer with us, our support for his foundation will continue, helping to realise his vision of a world free from MND.”

Gen!us light craft beers combine great craft flavour with less alcohol and low calories. Brewed to 3% ABV makes one 330ml can Gen!us Craft Lager or Gen!us IPA exactly 1 unit of alcohol, and with 89 Kcal and 79 Kcal per can, both beers carry less calories than an apple.

“The healthier drinking trend is now a mainstream mindset but what is ‘healthier’?" asks Jason. "Alcohol is very calorific, carrying 7 Kcal per gram. So, while more drinkers are rightly looking for lower alcohol products, being low calorie is also vital to be a ‘Better For You’ option.”

Despite the healthier drinking trend, the company’s five-year journey has been anything but easy. After doubling turnover in their first two-years, COVID hit the hospitality industry in 2020 with knock-on effects to supply chains in 2021. This forced Genius Brewing to swap their distinctive gold cans for brown bottles which hugely impacted ecommerce margins, wholesaler accounts, and the brand’s positioning.

Co-founder Charlie Craig reflected that, “While our ecommerce rocketed during lockdown, being forced into bottles was a total ‘black swan’ event which put huge pressure on the business. Then Carlsberg’s merger with Marston’s meant we suddenly had to find a new brewing partner. And now we have the Cost of Living crisis. It’s been a perfect storm.”

But there was light at the end of the tunnel. Appearing on Dragons’ Den gave the brand a huge boost with Tej Lalvani offering “all the money” for a big chunk of the business – which Charlie and Jason politely declined.

A new brewing partner in Scotland helped the business return their Gen!us Craft Lager to cans and launch an exciting new product - Gen!us IPA, whose striking can design recently won a Canmakers’ Accolade award.

Looking back, Jason Clarke concluded: “It’s certainly been a rollercoaster five years but despite the ups and downs, we’re confident that the healthier drinking trend is here to stay. With lower-calorie, light beer set to become the Next Big Thing, our ambition for the next five years is to become the UK’s number one light craft beer brand."