Small Beer
Small Beer Ltd is a family-owned UK wholesale beverage distributor, founded in 1980 and based in Lincoln, supplying cask ale, craft beer, wines, spirits, soft drinks and snacks to pubs, bars and licensed premises across England via a regional sales team and a 24/7 mobile ordering app.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1980
- HeadquartersLincoln, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Small Beer does
Small Beer Ltd is a privately held, family-owned wholesale beverage distributor headquartered in Bracebridge Heath, Lincoln, United Kingdom. Founded in 1980 by Tone and Jude Eastwood and now run by their son Rob Eastwood (Managing Director) and his wife Karen Eastwood (Commercial Director), the company supplies alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks plus snacks to pubs, bars, restaurants, cafe bars, clubs, sports clubs and village halls across much of England, from the North (Newcastle, Yorkshire) through the East Midlands (Lincoln, Nottingham, Leicester, Derby) to East Anglia and parts of southern England. Revenue mechanics are transactional wholesale: the company purchases from 500+ breweries and hundreds of wine and spirit producers, holds inventory in a purpose-built 42,000 sq ft warehouse, and resells at trade prices (excluding VAT) on credit-account terms, with interest charged on overdue balances.
The product portfolio is centred on cask ale — described as the company's founding and best-selling line, with 1,000+ different beers available — and extends to craft beer, lager, world beers, cider (including a Thatchers Zero low-and-no SKU launched in 2020), wines marketed under a dedicated TrentAns Vintners sub-brand (400+ brands), spirits (400+ gin brands among them), soft drinks and snacks. Distribution is executed through five named regional sales managers, a telesales team, an e-commerce website, and an iOS/Android mobile application enabling 24/7 ordering.
The company is AWRS-approved (Alcohol Wholesale Registration Scheme, reference #00000100075) and is a member of the Unitas Wholesale buying group alongside industry associations CAMRA, SIBA, the Society of Vintners and Drinkaware. It sponsors Lincoln City FC and Lincoln Rugby FC, and selected Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance as its 40th-anniversary charity. Revenue was £18m in FY2020 (40th anniversary year) with approximately 60 employees; there are no external investors, parent company, subsidiaries, or M&A activity disclosed, and the company operates with a single UK entity.
Small Beer firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Small Beer
- Legal name
- Small Beer Ltd
- Website
- https://smallbeerwholesale.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1980
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Small Beer Ltd is a family-owned UK wholesale beverage distributor, founded in 1980 and based in Lincoln, supplying cask ale, craft beer, wines, spirits, soft drinks and snacks to pubs, bars and licensed premises across England via a regional sales team and a 24/7 mobile ordering app.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Small Beer industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Beverage Wholesale Distribution
- NAICS
- Beer and Ale Merchant Wholesalers (42481), Wine and Distilled Alcoholic Beverage Merchant Wholesalers (42482)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Beer, Wine & Distilled Alcoholic Beverages (5180)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Non-Alcoholic Beverage Wholesale (Soft Drinks, Water, Juice, RTD Coffee/Tea) (AFAIAGAB)
Keywords
Where Small Beer is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lincoln
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Small Beer business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Wholesale beverage distribution: Small Beer operates as a wholesale distributor of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, selling cask ale, craft beer, lagers, world beers, wines, spirits, ciders, soft drinks, and snacks to pubs, bars, restaurants, and other licensed premises. Revenue is generated through product sales with VAT added to listed prices.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Trade wholesale pricing for licensed premises |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Small Beer product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Small Beer is a wholesale beverage distributor supplying cask ales, craft beers, lagers, world beers, ciders, wines, spirits, soft drinks, and snacks to pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, cafe bars, and licensed premises across the UK. The company stocks over 1,000 cask ales from 500+ breweries, 400+ spirit brands, and 400+ wine brands, and supports customers with 24/7 ordering via a mobile app, regional sales managers, telesales, and technical services.
Product overview
Small Beer is a wholesale drinks distributor offering a comprehensive range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages plus snacks. The core product portfolio consists of Beer (subdivided into Cask Ale, Craft Beer, Lager, and World Beers), Cider, Wines (under the TrentAns Vintners brand), Spirits, Soft Drinks, and Snacks. The company operates primarily as a B2B wholesaler serving pubs, bars, and hospitality venues, with an accompanying mobile app for online ordering. The product range includes over 1,000 cask ales, more than 400 gins and 400 wines, and partnerships with 500+ breweries nationwide.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- TrentAns Vintners: Wine portfolio brand formed in 2010 to help prioritize wine and all its varieties
- Small Beer App
Products and services
- Cask Ale Traditional cask-conditioned ales; the company's founding product and number one seller, offering an unrivalled 1,000 different beers from more than 500 brewers for pubs and licensed premises.
- Craft Beer Modern craft beers including double hopped, tropical, and sour varieties, available in keg, can, or bottle formats from breweries across the UK, supplied to pubs and licensed premises.
- Lager Selection of national brewer brands and British craft lagers, including Korev from St Austell and Dry Hopped Lager from Adnams, plus a growing range of low and no-alcohol options, supplied to on-trade customers.
- World Beers International beers including Corona, San Miguel, Peroni, and over 100 Belgian beers from Timmermans, Duvel, Vedette, and Delerium, plus Spanish beers like Estrella, Cruzcampo, and Mahou.
- Cider Traditional ciders and modern fruit varieties from producers large and small, including Thatchers Zero alcohol-free cider, supplied to pubs and licensed premises.
- Wines (TrentAns Vintners) Wine portfolio under the TrentAns Vintners brand, offering more than 400 brands from Champagne and fine wines to easy drinking classics and a mini cellar range, supplied to pubs, bars, and restaurants.
- Spirits Over 400 spirit brands including artisan gins (Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray), rums, bourbons, vodka, tequila, and whiskey, supplied to on-trade customers.
- Soft Drinks Full range of Coca-Cola and Britvic packs, bottles and cans, fruit juices, cordials, still and sparkling water, plus tonics (Britvic, Schweppes, Fever Tree) and Belvoir Presses, supplied to pubs and licensed premises.
- Snacks Snack products including Pipers crisps from Lincolnshire, Salty Dog crisps and nuts, Snyder Pretzels, and Gruntled Pork Crackling in various flavours, sold to pubs and licensed premises.
- Small Beer Mobile Ordering App Mobile application for iOS and Android enabling 24/7, 365-day online ordering of drinks and snacks for trade customers.
Quantifiable outcome
- 55,000 firkins of cask ale sold annually
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Small Beer
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Small Beer technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Small Beer partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor.
- CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale)minorIndustry association membership displayed as logo on website footer, indicating support for Campaign for Real Ale initiatives
- SIBA (The Society of Independent Brewers)minorIndustry association membership displayed as logo on website footer, indicating membership with The Society of Independent Brewers
- Society of VintnersminorIndustry association membership displayed as logo on website footer, indicating membership since 1975
- Unitas WholesaleminorWholesale purchasing group partnership for purchasing power and product access. Small Beer participates in Unitas Group promotional brochure programme.
- DrinkawareminorIndustry responsibility organisation membership displayed as logo, promoting responsible drinking awareness
- Lincs and Notts Air AmbulanceminorCharity of the Year partner for 2020 (40th anniversary year). Small Beer committed to fundraising activities including wine tasting, golf days, Lincoln 10K run (#40kfor40years).
- Lincoln City FCminorLong-term supporter of Lincoln City FC with sponsorship of match days and player award evenings. Helped sponsor the Lincoln City Knight statue.
- Lincoln Rugby FCminorDiamond Sponsor of Lincoln Rugby FC, a club founded in 1882 with four senior teams and youth programme from under-6s to under-18s.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves12 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Small Beer competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Enotria & Coe: UK-based premium wine and spirits distributor supplying on-trade venues including pubs, restaurants and hotels. Comparable B2B wholesale model serving the same licensed-premise customer base with curated, range-led offerings.
- Speciality Drinks: UK wine and spirits specialist distributor supplying the on-trade with an extensive portfolio. Comparable to Small Beer's spirits and wine range, sharing a specialist range-led approach to licensed trade customers.
- Bibendum PLB Group (Berkmann Wine Cellars): UK premium on-trade drinks wholesaler offering an extensive wine, beer and spirits portfolio to restaurants, pubs and hotels. Comparable wholesale distribution model focused on the licensed trade, with similar focus on range breadth and supplier partnerships.
- Morgenrot: Independent UK wine importer and wholesaler distributing to on-trade venues including pubs and restaurants. Comparable as a smaller specialist wholesale distributor focused on curating wine range depth, similar to Small Beer's TrentAns Vintners operation.
- LWC Drinks Ltd: UK on-trade drinks wholesaler (formerly Landmark Wholesale) supplying beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks to pubs, clubs and hospitality venues. Comparable B2B wholesale model with multi-category range serving licensed premises.
- Hallgarten Wines (Hallgarten & Novum Wines): UK wine specialist wholesaler distributing a broad portfolio of wines to the on-trade including pubs, restaurants and hotels. Direct comparable to Small Beer's TrentAns Vintners wine arm given the wholesale wine-to-trade business model.
- Love Drinks: UK specialist craft beer, cider and low/no alcohol distributor supplying independent on-trade venues. Closest comparable in craft-led, range-focused wholesale distribution for the independent pub segment that Small Beer serves.
- Matthew Clark (C&C Group): The UK's largest on-trade drinks wholesaler, distributing beer, wine, spirits and soft drinks to pubs, bars, restaurants and hotels. Closest direct comparison to Small Beer's B2B wholesale model, serving the same licensed on-trade customer base, though at substantially greater national scale.
Broad incumbents
- Bidfood UK: One of the UK's largest foodservice wholesalers with a substantial drinks, beer, wine and spirits range alongside its broader food offering. Competes with Small Beer for pub and hospitality customers but as part of a wider foodservice portfolio rather than as a drinks specialist.
- C&C Group plc (Tennent's): Major international brewer and on-trade drinks distributor including the Tennent's wholesale operation in Scotland and Ireland. Overlaps with Small Beer's beverage wholesale activity but at materially larger scale, with vertically integrated brewing and broader geographic reach.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Small Beer social profiles
Digital presenceSmall Beer compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Small Beer financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Small Beer leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Small Beer funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Small Beer M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Small Beer
What does Small Beer do?
Small Beer is a wholesale beverage distributor supplying cask ales, craft beers, lagers, world beers, ciders, wines, spirits, soft drinks, and snacks to pubs, bars, restaurants, hotels, cafe bars, and licensed premises across the UK. The company stocks over 1,000 cask ales from 500+ breweries, 400+ spirit brands, and 400+ wine brands, and supports customers with 24/7 ordering via a mobile app, regional sales managers, telesales, and technical services.
Is Small Beer a public or private company?
Small Beer is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Small Beer founded?
Small Beer was founded in 1980. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Small Beer based?
Small Beer is headquartered in Lincoln, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Small Beer make money?
One revenue line is on record: wholesale beverage distribution.
Who are Small Beer's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Enotria & Coe, Speciality Drinks, Bibendum PLB Group (Berkmann Wine Cellars), Morgenrot, LWC Drinks Ltd, Hallgarten Wines (Hallgarten & Novum Wines), Love Drinks and Matthew Clark (C&C Group). Broad incumbents are Bidfood UK and C&C Group plc (Tennent's).
Does Small Beer have an API?
No public API is recorded for Small Beer.
What industry is Small Beer in?
Small Beer's product category is Beverage Wholesale Distribution. Its primary akta.pro industry code is AFAIAGAB, Non-Alcoholic Beverage Wholesale (Soft Drinks, Water, Juice, RTD Coffee/Tea). Its NAICS code is 42481 and its SIC code is 5180.