The first UK Brewer to switch to a four-day working week has secured a major supermarket deal.
Vault City Brewing’s funky-flavoured peach and strawberry beer will appear on sale across 650 Tesco stores.
The Edinburgh beer producer made national headlines after becoming the first brewer in the UK to formally adopt a four-day working week in January last year.
A reduction in working hours has coincided with a business growth of roughly 50%, as well as improved staff productivity, mental health and overall happiness.
Vault City Brewing founder Steven Smith-Hay, said: “We’ve always believed work-life balance should be a big part of our culture and something worth striving for.
“Many studies have shown switching to a four-day week actually improves productivity and despite the decrease in hours from 40 to 35, we can confidently say the team feels more motivated during those four days, knowing that they have three days to live their lives outside of work and recharge their batteries.”
In February, global brewing behemoth Carlsberg predicted “another challenging year” for the industry, over fears that higher prices and inflation will see customer spends less on beer.
However, the Edinburgh-based brewery was boosted by a buoyant export market, which sees them ship beers to over 15 different countries.
Steven, aged 32, started brewing sour beer from his home as a hobby before launching Vault City in 2018.
The craft beer enthusiast said: “The news last year following the mini-budget did not paint a pretty picture for beer sales in 2023, and like most breweries we found ourselves preparing for the worst.
"As a small, independent craft brewer, we’re so proud to see our product stocked on the shelves in so many different Tesco supermarkets up and down the UK.
“We’re still a small team and it gives all of us so much faith in our product and all the hard work we put in to have landed such a significant deal.”
The business, which specialises in heavily fruited, modern sour beers - with flavours such as Mango Banana Coconut Crumble, Iron Brew and Raspberry Roulade - has since become one of the UK’s best-selling sour beer brands and the biggest in Scotland.
