BURY ST EDMUNDS • DUNBAR • BURTON UPON TRENT
OUR BRILLIANT PEOPLE:
We chat to Sam Mitchell, Head of Manufacturing, and read about the latest milestone for Proud to Pitch In P.4 SPECIAL FEATURE:
SPOTLIGHTING SOME OF THE WORK OF OUR FREE TRADE TEAM P.16
OUR QUADS TEAM IN NUMBERS: Some impressive stats on our Quality and Dispense Services P.18
SO FRUITY IT'S CRIMINAL:
Read about the rollout of Hazy Day and the big moment the team are gearing up for this August P.6
WE
Hi everyone,
Wow so we’re already well into the second half of the year!
It’s great to see another packed edition of Pint Sized with lots of great news from across our business.
We know that we continue to operate in a challenging market with consumers choosing very carefully how they spend across hospitality and leisure, but I’m incredibly proud to see that we continue to work hard at taking the opportunities where we can and helping them enjoy the big events across the summer and beyond. Highlights for me include the big milestone for our premium beer’s portfolio, with Hazy Day moving into over 1,000 pubs, news on the success of phase one of the Cost to Serve project, and to witnessing how lots of smaller projects across our operations are contributing to driving more efficient ways of working and operational excellence.
We have also just been out to see all of you as part of our summer roadshow series which was another brilliant success and an invaluable experience for us as a leadership team. With seven different sessions held, we had some great conversations with many of you and once again it was great to see the energy, ideas and engagement in the room.
I’m looking forward to seeing what the second half of the year brings and thanks as always for your continued hard work.
Hi everyone,
Welcome to the summer edition of Pint Sized! A packed edition with news on our brilliant people, brands and beers. Also with the new Group Supply Chain supplement bringing you the latest updates from Supply Chain.
Don't forget, you can give us your feedback on this edition by heading to page 22 and scanning the QR code.
Enjoy, Alice
Over halfway through the year and no sign of things slowing down in Supply Chain! We are juggling several different projects and initiatives in what is a very exciting time.
We’re thrilled to have successfully moved our drinks operation from Runcorn to Middleton having gone live in June and looking forward to the next phase when we see non-food items launch later this year and food and recycling early 2026. It’s also been fantastic to see the collaboration between the supply chain team and B&B sales team on the ‘Cost to Serve’ project to try and drive efficiencies across our business which is key to us succeeding.
We know our people are our greatest asset in supply chain and it’s been great to see the engagement from our teams – something I’m keen to keep improving so our teams see the part they play in the positive impact we are having.
As Matt said, as a business we’re in a new chapter of delivery after investment and it’s been great to see the new company vision give us that clearer direction of travel for the next five years. I’m really looking forward to the second half of this year and seeing what else we can achieve.
Vance
OUR BRILLIANT PEOPLE
04 Meet Sam Mitchell
Greene King Brewery Run
05 Grassroots Sports Heroes
OUR BRILLIANT BRANDS
06 Bringing the legends to life with Hazy Day
15 Old Session Hen in new cans
NEW Peach Cooler Cask Ale
GROUP SUPPLY CHAIN
08 Behind the scenes of our supply chain
Our distribution network
09 Cost to serve
10 Festival Operations
11 Middleton Update
12 GSC Project updates
13 Mighty Hikers
SPECIAL FEATURE
16 Spotlighting the Free Trade
OUR BRILLIANT BEERS
18 Our QUADS team in numbers
19 Belhaven Brewery Walking Tours
Ruddled Raiders
The MG Car Club
GOOD TO KNOW
20 The new Greene King Vision EVENTS
22 Events Fun Facts
Coffee Time crossword
Events calendar
Pint Sized Places
SAM MITCHELL Head of Manufacturing
The event will be a six hour challenge (9.30am3.30pm) on a looped (approx. 5k) course around our brilliant Greene King Brewery. You may attempt to complete as many laps as possible over the full six hours, or you may choose to finish just one, either way, you will be a finisher and receive a t-shirt and bespoke medal.
Please support by entering your place for £20
Please note: The event is not a set distance but a 6 hour challenge event for you to complete as many laps of the course as possible within the time frame. Brewing and Brands and Greene King are proud to have supported Macmillan since 2012 and have helped to raise over £22 million. We are fundraising so that Macmillan can help everyone with cancer live life as fully as they can and continue to provide physical, financial and emotional support.
For more info please contact: WilliamMorrison@greeneking.co.uk
We had a chat with Sam Mitchell, Head of Manufacturing, about his new internal promotion, what the team have on the plan for the rest of the year, and how quality has come on in the last 12 months.
Sam, tell us a little bit about yourself… I have been with Greene King for just over two years now. I have 20+ years experience working in the food industry,, making a variety of different products from Ketchup, Piccalilli, Cooking Sauces to Jams and Jellies. I have spent most of my career working in quality, but I enjoy all things manufacturing and operations.
Outside of work, I live in Cambridge with my Wife and two Daughters who keep me very busy. I enjoy playing golf and as I’ve been renovating our house for the last two years, I suppose I would say I also enjoy a bit of DIY. I am a lifelong Cambridge United supporter (a small, league two team before someone asks who they are).
Congratulations on the promotion, can you talk to us about what your role entails?
Thank you, my new role is a combination of my previous role and parts of the previous Head of Manufacturing role. I am responsible for the packaging operations at Bury St Edmunds (Draught Beer and Hen Hall) and Engineering.
I am very lucky that we have a great team across all these areas, and it is my role to help the teams ensure our products are made in a safe way while ensuring the highest quality products are always produced.
One of the areas of focus is also around Manufacturing Excellence which involves us reviewing our processes and understanding where we can remove barriers to make the process safer, faster or more cost effective by removing waste.
We know how important quality is for our business, how have you seen this come on in the last 12 months?
When I joined Greene King, we implemented a two-year plan to build on the foundations already in place.
This involved a change in the Quality Structure to allow us to focus resource on the implementation of a paperless quality management systems (Quor) to help provide a better system for our operations team.
We have also seen improvements in our dartboard metric and at the start of 2025 we tightened the targets on the dartboard which is a credit to everyone, and a sign that quality is improving and we continue to prioritise driving our standards and quality.
And what do the team have on the plan for the remainder of the year?
Lots of exciting plans for the remainder or this year and into 2026. We are building a new roadmap with a focus on the implementation of Paperless Quality. Paperless quality is the process of converting all our paper-based checks on to tablets using the Quor system. The hope is this will be rolled out in Hen Hall first before the end of the year.
We also have a big project looking at Micro Testing and what we test and how we test with the hope that new technology will allow us to have results faster allowing more testing and improvements to our processes to continue to drive up quality.
How can team members find out more about the importance of quality in our beers?
Once per month in the Brewery Tap in Bury, a chance to come and taste our products and other products in the market. The Quality and Brewery Teams will give you an understanding of the beer and it’s flavour profile while the Marketing Team will provide an update on sales and customers. It is a very relaxed session open to all and there is often food too.
Also, the entire team are hugely passionate about what they do, and the quality of a product, so please do reach out to them if you want to find out more!
to QR code to
While the UK has been glued to the summer of sport, from action on the Centre Court to the Women’s Euro’s, we are keeping an eye on a different prize – the grassroots legends who are keeping sport alive, accessible and life-changing in communities across the UK.
We have hit a major milestone with £1 million donated to grassroots sports clubs through our Proud to Pitch In scheme, powered by the sale of IPA.
The scheme has given clubs the opportunity to apply for grants of up to £4,000, with funding used for everything from kit and equipment to venue hire and accessibility improvements.
Since the launch in 2021, more than 370 teams have been supported by Proud to Pitch In, all made possible by supporters backing the initiative with every pint of IPA.
Meet the teams behind the figures raising the bar: Surf Therapy CIC in Swansea: providing inclusive surf sessions for over-50s, veterans and people facing mental health challenges. It’s not just about riding waves - it’s about finding strength, connection, and purpose through the power of the sea.
• Capoeira Communities in Norwich: blending Afro-Brazilian martial arts, music and magic, they’re breaking barriers for refugees and those from low-income backgrounds, turning dance and rhythm into confidence and connection.
Felton Eccles Tug of War Club in rural Somerset: with help from IPA’s Proud to Pitch In, they’ve swapped a leaky shed for a kittedout strength training hub to keep their internationally recognised sport and tradition alive – bringing a fresh generation into an ageold sport.
Gemma Woolnough-Smith, Marketing Manager for IPA, said:
“Grassroots sport is where champions start out, but more importantly, it’s where communities come together, barriers break down, and lifelong memories are made.
“For the clubs receiving this support, it’s a lifeline. From park pitches at local parks to paddling out at dawn, these vital teams are doing more than playing sport - they're actively changing lives and strengthening their communities.
“Reaching this £1 million milestone is a proud moment, and as we are now firmly in this year’s summer of sport, we want to celebrate all the sport clubs out there making a difference in their communities. The clubs supported by Proud to Pitch In are proof that when you invest in grassroots, you help raise the bar for everyone.”
It’s an exciting time for Hazy Day as we increase distribution throughout our managed estate moving the brand into over 1,000 pubs.
Our unlawfully Fruity IPA is now officially outperforming Hazy Jane and Camden Eazy IPA on draught year-to-date, with an incredible 257% volume growth vs last year!
We’re gearing up for a big moment this August with a national media & PR campaign aimed at breaking down barriers of asking for a taster in the pub. Research shows 70% of Brits have never asked for a beer sample, and nearly a third of Gen Z pub-goers feel too nervous to ask. As part of the campaign, we have launched a limited run of the UK’s tiniest pint of Hazy Day, designed to encourage trial, spark curiosity, and drive more guests to discover the bold, fruity flavour of our unlawfully fruity IPA.
We’ll also be pushing footfall in all GK pouring pubs with a free pint mechanic through the Greene King app, launching 2nd September, giving you even more reason to head to your local!
BURY ST EDMUNDS • EASTWOOD • BURTON UPON TRENT • ABINGDON
BEHIND THE SCENES OF GROUP SUPPLY CHAIN: KEEPING PINTS POURED AND PLATES FULL P.8 & 9
CHECK OUT THE LATEST ON OUR NEW DEPOT IN MIDDLETON P.11
THE ABINGDON TEAM TAKE ON A MIGHTY CHALLENGE FOR MACMILLAN P.13
THE OLD AND THE NEW WITH 76 YEARS BETWEEN ONE OF OUR NEW FLEET AND AN OLD TRUCK!
Behind the Scenes of Green King's supply chain - what it takes to keep the UK's pints poured and plates full.
DAVE CARTLEDGE
GSC Network Strategy Lead
We caught up with Dave Cartledge, GSC Network Strategy Lead, who gave us an insight into the ‘Cost to Serve’ project which we know is a huge focus for the team this year…
Dave, can you tell us what the Cost to Serve project is?
Through various acquisitions and network changes, the delivery profile has become unbalanced which in turn creates unnecessary road miles. By reviewing our customer delivery days using the DIPs planning tool, the project enables the team to optimise delivery days into a smoother day profile. Working with the different trade channels they have created a customer engagement plan for customer delivery day changes.
At what stage is the project currently at?
Phase one was focused on Tilbury depot and has been a great success thanks to the knowledge of the depot teams and the close relationships our Sales Development and Business Development Managers have with our customers. A total of 800 customers were in scope and of these 70% required change. Through strong project governance 91% accepted the change with the remainder able to find an agreeable compromise so we are really pleased with the outcome and lot’s of learnings for us to take forward.
What’s next for the project?
Following the success of phase one, the team are now underway with phase two for St Edmunds, Eastwood, Middleton and Spennymoor Depots where we know we have 2365 customers in scope.
TIZ
Transport Coordinator
We had a chat with Tiz Bowen, Transport Coordinator, on all things festival operations for Primary Transport…
Tiz, can you talk to us about what we have coming up as part of the festivals season for primary?
We deliver to 27 different festivals from 13th May to the 16th September. One of these is Heritage Live at the Royal estate in Sandringham, where we have 11 deliveries over two days with both 40ft fridge trailers and curtain sliders. We also previously delivered to Windsor Castle for the King's Coronation.
We are also delivering to all four Pub in the Park festivals this year where we have our own 25ft fridge trailer that doubles up as a mobile cellar. This trailer will make its final appearance of the season at the Brewing & Brands summer party keeping the beer cool.
What do these events offer our customers?
Customers can dance the night away and sing to their heart's content and when they are in need of a refreshing drink, the fridge trailers are there to make sure the drinks are kept at cellar temperature. Perfect in the heatwave we have seen so far this summer!
I can imagine a lot of work goes into preparing for the festival season, can you tell us a bit about that?
It is a team effort from organising the hire of the fridge trailers through a third party supplier, making sure we have the manpower to deliver, planning the deliveries and collections, to the drivers on the road delivering the result. We start talking festivals as early as January, meeting with the customer sales team, central inventory and the area managers. Things are constantly changing with a lot of back and forth between the various departments so the earlier we start organising the better.
How can team members find out more about these different festivals/events?
Below are a couple of links to our biggest festivals this year if you fancy having a boogie and sing along – Heritage Live and Pub in the Park.
Heritage Live www.heritagelive.net
Pub in the Park www.pubintheparkuk.com
We are thrilled to announce, we have moved our drinks distribution depot from Runcorn to Middleton, having gone live, mid-June. The new home for our depot teams in the Northwest is part of our long-term multimillion-pound investment in the region’s pub distribution network and builds upon our longstanding partnership with GXO who run the new depot on behalf of Greene King.
This move has been about improving efficiencies, creating space for growth, innovation, and building a future-ready operation that focuses on putting our customers at the very heart. The team will complete at least 330 drinks deliveries per week across our managed estate, free trade and pub partners and has the capability for further growth.
The next phase of roll out for Middleton will see non-food (items such as crockery, napkins) begin later this year and food and recycling moving February 2026, completing the first hub in Greene King’s group supply chain that is home to food/drink/non-food and recycling all in the same place.
IMOGEN LEE Supply Chain Coordinator
Hear from Imogen Lee, Supply Chain Coordinator –North, on two of the projects the supply chain team have been busy working on…
We’ve successfully implemented our ETA messaging service across all managed and franchise sites for both food and GNFR deliveries. Previously, sites were only provided with a four-hour delivery window and received no advance notice in case of delays.
With this new service, sites will now receive an ETA message approximately 30 minutes before delivery. This advance notice allows teams to better prepare and manage their time within the designated fourhour window. Sites will also receive an ETA if a route has become delayed and is due to fall out of their current time window which enables our pubs to plan better!
In the main, keg caps are rarely recycled, and if they are, they are not segregated, with pubs either disposing of them in general waste or sending them in with mixed plastic recycling.
Since these caps are made of the same polypropylene plastic as the confectionary tubs, we have a great opportunity to recycle approximately 1.2 million caps across the business, while raising funds for Macmillan.
In the same way we recycle our tubs, all keg caps will be collected and taken to a plastic reprocessing centre where they’re shredded, before being sold onto plastic manufacturers to use in place of virgin plastics.
All money raised from the sale of our keg cap plastics will be given directly to Macmillan Cancer Support.
Congratulations to Alan Donnelly, Elliott Jefferies, Gary Howell, Jon Bentley, Michael Harper and Kath Cuddy who all successfully completed the Jurassic Coast Mighty Hike earlier this month!
Taking on the full 26 miles, the hikers did a fantastic job and raised over £2,200 for Macmillan in the process.
Our flagship beer. An easy drinking, fresh, sessionable IPA. A satisfying toffee / caramel note with a clean, dry finish.
Hot on the heels of the brand’s launch in cask this April, Old Session Hen has once again expanded it's range by launching in a 4x440ml can pack in Sainsbury’s.
With more than two million bottles sold since launch in April 2024, and the 10x440ml pack proving popular with Morrisons’ customers, the 4x440ml pack gives shoppers more choice in the off-trade and has extended the range into Sainsbury’s for the first time, alongside the 500ml bottles.
Kirsten Alexander, Brand Manager for the “Hen” Family said: “We’re so pleased to be expanding the Old Session Hen range once again, just over a year since the brand first launched. The decision to launch a 4x440ml can format was driven by the popularity of Old Session Hen with consumers, as well as the growing 4x440ml segment of the off-trade beer category. This new format will give consumers another choice when looking for an easy-drinking golden beer that offers fantastic value across all formats.”
Old Session Hen is also performing well in the on-trade, with more than 400 brls sold in the first nine weeks which is +20% of the brand’s full-year target!
Our brand-new seasonal cask ale Peach Cooler has landed! It’s a fruity, refreshing session ale which is perfect for sunny beer gardens and anyone who loves a hint of peach in their pint.
A light, easy-drinking fruity beer at 3.4% ABV, it’s got sweet honey notes mixed with peach and stone fruits, sitting on top of a gentle, malty base.
You would have read in the last edition of Pint Sized that Simon Proctor recently passed his Level 4 Brewing Apprenticeship, Simon was challenged to craft the flavour of summer as a cask beer as part of his apprenticeship –and we think he’s nailed it!
Simon loved working on this brew; he started by experimenting with malt teas to perfect the base before testing different hops like Alora in the recipe.
Consumer testing for the beer also showed that over three-quarters of craft beer drinkers said they’d likely order a pint of this one when visiting a pub or club.
The Royal Albert Hall are to continue their 8-year partnership with our Free trade team for another three years.
The Albert Hall welcomes more than one million visitors a year from all corners of the globe and is one of London’s most iconic venues
With the renewal of the partnership just a few months away there has been a real appetite from both sides to freshen up the offering on sale to the public and this will see a brandnew Level Head branded bar replacing the current Old Speckled Hen bar and a switch out from the current lager, Stella Artois, for Estrella Galicia.
Sitting alongside these two fantastic brands in certain areas will also include Hazy Day.
A core element of our ‘Free Trade Optimisation’ AOP project, Cost to Serve is about how we deliver to our customers as efficiently as possible. Through various acquisitions and depot network and customer change, the delivery profile has become unbalanced creating unnecessary road miles. The sales team have therefore worked closely with the supply chain teams to review customer delivery plans and create an engagement plan for customer delivery day change.
Phase one was focused on Tilbury depot and has been a great success! A total of 800 customers were in scope and of these 70% required change. Thanks to the SDMs close customer relationships, 91% accepted change with the remainder being able to find an agreeable compromise.
Following this success, the teams are now underway with phase two for St Edmunds depot, Eastwood, Middleton and Spennymoor depots.
Our Value for Venues support package just got even better, helping independent businesses save money during this challenging time for the sector.
Launched in 2023, Value for Venues offers support to free trade outlets, including catalogues, logistics, business management, and financial support. It's about helping our customers with the increased costs we’re all facing.
Running a business can be tough, and independent venues are under pressure to make every penny count. That's why we're supporting free trade venues with our knowledge and expertise through the Value Hub. The platform can help independent outlets save over £5,000 a year, with access to over 15 partner suppliers offering discounted services.
Our customers have praised the Value Hub for transforming their venues, revamping their product ranges, and saving on costs. One customer recently saved over £1,000 on new garden furniture just by ordering through the platform. We've also helped an independent venue arrange for solar panels to be fitted, giving them future savings of approximately £2,000 a year.
Our Free Trade partnerships are incredibly important to us. Hear about some of them and find out a little more about the value they add…
Matchday magic with new sporting partnerships
We’re delighted to announce some new partnerships with Ipswich Town Football Club and Essex Cricket.
Our five-year deal with Essex Cricket sees us continue as their official beer partner until 2029. A range of our drinks, including Level Head, will be available at the Ambassador Cruise Line Ground in Chelmsford.
Elsewhere, we’re proud to be continuing our relationship with Ipswich Town as their official pouring partner. The club will continue to serve beers like Level Head across the concourse and hospitality areas at Portman Road. Fans can also look forward to enjoying Estrella Galicia on matchdays.
The agreement is part of a long history we have with the club. We were front-of-shirt sponsors from 1995 until 2001, with Ipswich Town fan Ed Sheeran the current shirt sponsor. This deal will see us continue as one of their ‘Elite Partners’.
We also partner the PCA who champion the ongoing interests of professional cricketers in England and Wales. Last month, they held a Legends match against Hornsey Cricket Club where we made the most of showcasing our brilliant beers and brilliant brands!
What were the highlights?
Hornsey Cricket Club were previously a Carlsberg account, now locked into Greene King for two years
• Hazy Day and Estrella Galicia are permanently on the bar
Over 300 people attended the event and the club raised £33k for charity
We supplied two events bars, café barriers, branded glasses, POS and Hazy Day t-shirts for the bar staff
Fantastic branding across the event with our beers on the table
Attendees drank the bar dry of Hazy Day!
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Belhaven Brewery has launched a new walking tour of Belhaven pubs in Aberdeen and Glasgow, complete with a prize for those who complete all locations.
Following the success of the Edinburgh Belhaven walking tour, the brewery has launched a new experience in the heart of Aberdeen and Glasgow, offering locals and visitors a fun way to explore the city and some of it's finest pubs. Guests join the tour by picking up a collector card from any of the eight selected pubs and all they need to do is enjoy a Belhaven beer or soft drink at each of the stops. Guests can choose from a pint of Belhaven Best, Scotland’s No.1 ale, Belhaven Black, the nation’s favourite Scottish stout and more. With each initial purchase, guests will receive a stamp from each pub as proof of the visit. Once all stamps have been collected from all eight pubs guests can claim a free Belhaven Walking Tour T-shirt at any of the pubs. Collector cards also include a unique voucher code for 10% off future tours at Belhaven Brewery in Dunbar.
We sponsor the ‘Ruddled Raiders’ to compete in an international Dodgeball show!
We recently sponsored the ‘Ruddled Raiders’ Dodgeball team to compete in the international Toulouse Dodgeball show only for them to be crowned winners of the event! You may recall that the team named themselves after our very own classic English Ale, Ruddles Best and formed the club as a means of bringing together a group of university friends, who share a love for Dodgeball – and for Ruddles Best! A fantastic outcome and example of doing great things in our community.
The MG Car Club is the original club for MG owners, based in Abingdon and is one of the oldest car clubs in the UK.
In 1979 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of MG a competition took place with the MG workers to suggest a name for an anniversary beer to be produced by Morlands Brewery and the name ‘Old Speckled Hen’ was chosen.
In 1992, the MG Car Club Abingdon Works Centre discussed with Morlands about supporting an event for 100 MG’s to drive a route around Oxfordshire starting and finishing in Abingdon and kickstarting what is now known as the ‘Old Speckled Hen’ tour. The valued support from Greene King for the tour continues to this day with us celebrating the 30th tour last year.
We held an event as a reunion for people that used to work at the MG factory in Abingdon and the group were thrilled to all receive their very own can of Old Speckled Hen!
John Watson, MG Car Club Member
The new Greene King vision has been unveiled and is critical in this next stage of our journey, balancing what we need to achieve as a business over the next five years and how we are going to do that.
The new vision is simpler, more targeted and driven by outcomes. Our purpose and values remain unchanged. We Pour Happiness into Lives.
CUSTOMER FIRST, WE CARE, FREEDOM TO SUCCEED, WE TAKE OWNERSHIP, WIN, LEARN, CELEBRATE TOGETHER
Over 2000 pints were drunk at the recent GK Pubs conference
The team have poured 20,000 pints of premium beers at Pub in the Park so far with two more to go
The team send their kit and vehicles out to the pub estate over 150 times a year
They help to pour over 200,000 pints across the year using festival, vehicles and mobile bars
31st Jul – 3rd August
Heritage Live Saffron Walden
5th - 9th August
Great British Beer Festival
9th – 10th August
Leicester Food Festival
14th – 17th August
Heritage Live Sandringham
30th – 31st August
Festwich
5th – 7th September
Pub in the Park St Albans
b&binternalcommunications@greeneking.co.uk
AV AILABLE IN 50 LT R KEGS
"BELTER" NOUN ( informal ) USED TO DESCRIBE SOMETHING THAT IS ADMIRABLE, OUTSTANDING, OR THRILLING. JUST LIKE THIS LAGER
BEST ENJOYED RESPONSIBLY
