Milwaukee | Founded: 2020
Industry: Beverage packaging
Employees: 18
Craft Beverage Warehouse specializes in direct-to-can digital printing and wholesale distribution of related products for beverage canning.
How has your company navigated the challenges of the past few years?
Kyle Stephens, president: “This business was born out of a supply chain disruption in the aluminum beverage can industry during the pandemic. We pivoted to direct-to-can digital printing when can supply rebounded, realizing that large distributors could offer much better pricing due to their ordering volume. This is a very capital-intensive business but we’re able to weather rising interest rates due to the increasing demand for our products and limited supply in the U.S.”
What are the biggest obstacles to your company’s continued growth?
“Currently, the single largest obstacle for our business is space. We did not expect our business to grow so quickly. With the recent doubling of our capacity, we have lost most of our warehouse space. A close second obstacle would be planning for future expansion. We have a small but growing team of very hard-working people. Demand for our products is pushing us to grow quickly, but we are also trying to be very mindful of the additional stress that puts on our company and our people.”
What one thing would you change to make Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin better?
“We strongly believe in bringing industrial jobs back to the city of Milwaukee. We’ve learned through our growth that there is an incredible workforce right here in the city. To bring jobs where our employees live and play saves cost and headaches of transportation and provides additional personal time rather than a long commute.”
