How to write a business plan for a microbrewery?

Need to write a convincing business plan for your microbrewery fast? Discover which tool to use and what to write in our complete guide.

Writing a business plan for a microbrewery can be an intimidating task, especially for those just starting. This in-depth guide is designed to help entrepreneurs like you understand how to create a comprehensive business plan so that you can approach the exercise with method and confidence.

We'll cover: why writing a microbrewery business plan is so important - both when starting up, and when running and growing the business - what information you need to include in your plan, how it should be structured, and what tools you can use to get the job done efficiently.

Let's get started!

What is a business plan for a microbrewery?

To keep it simple, a microbrewery business plan is a document which comprises two main parts:

• A financial forecast, which highlights the financing requirements and the expected growth, profitability, and cash flows for your microbrewery over the next 3 to 5 years,
• A written presentation of your microbrewery company, management team, market, and strategies, which aims to convince the reader of your chances of success and provides the context needed to assess whether your forecast is realistic or not.

Why write a business plan for a microbrewery?

Understanding the document's scope and goals will help you easily grasp its structure and content. Before diving into the specifics of the plan, let's take a moment to explore the key reasons why having a microbrewery business plan is so crucial.

To have a clear roadmap to grow the business

Small businesses rarely experience a constant and predictable environment. Economic cycles go up and down, while the business landscape is mutating constantly with new regulations, technologies, competitors, and consumer behaviours emerging when we least expect it.

In this dynamic context, it's essential to have a clear roadmap for your microbrewery. Otherwise, you are navigating in the dark which is dangerous given that - as a business owner - your capital is at risk.

That's why crafting a well-thought-out business plan is crucial to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of your venture.

To create an effective business plan, you'll need to take a step-by-step approach. First, you'll have to assess your current position (if you're already in business), and then identify where you'd like your microbrewery to be in the next three to five years.

Once you have a clear destination for your microbrewery, you'll focus on three key areas:

• Resources: you'll determine the human, equipment, and capital resources needed to reach your goals successfully.
• Speed: you'll establish the optimal pace at which your business needs to grow if it is to meet its objectives within the desired timeframe.
• Risks: you'll identify and address potential risks you might encounter along the way.

By going through this process regularly, you'll be able to make informed decisions about resource allocation, paving the way for the long-term success of your business.

To anticipate future cash flows

Regularly comparing your actual financial performance to the projections in the financial forecast of your microbrewery's business plan gives you the ability to monitor your business's financial health and make necessary adjustments as needed.

This practice allows you to detect potential financial issues, such as unexpected cash shortfalls before they escalate into major problems. Giving you time to find additional financing or put in place corrective measures.

Additionally, it helps you identify growth opportunities, like excess cash flow that could be allocated to launch new products and services or expand into new markets.

Staying on track with these regular comparisons enables you to make well-informed decisions about the amount of financing your business might require, or the excess cash flow you can expect to generate from your main business activities.

To secure financing

Whether you want to start a microbrewery or an existing business in the scaling phase, writing a detailed business plan is essential when seeking financing from banks or investors.

This makes sense given what we've just seen: financiers want to ensure you have a clear roadmap and visibility on your future cash flows.

Banks will use the information included in the plan to assess your borrowing capacity (how much debt your business can support) and your ability to repay the loan before deciding whether they will extend credit to your business and on what terms.

Similarly, investors will review your plan carefully to assess if their investment can generate an attractive return on investment.

To do so, they will be looking for evidence that your microbrewery has the potential for healthy growth, profitability, and cash flow generation over time.

Now that you understand why it is important to create a business plan for a microbrewery, let's take a look at what information is needed to create one.

Information needed to create a business plan for a microbrewery

You need the right data in order to project sales, investments and costs accurately in the financial forecast of your microbrewery business plan.

Below, we'll cover three key pieces of information you should gather before drafting your business plan.

Carrying out market research for a microbrewery

Before you begin writing your business plan for a microbrewery, conducting market research is a critical step in ensuring precise and realistic financial projections.

Market research grants you valuable insights into your target customer base, competitors, pricing strategies, and other crucial factors that can impact the success of your business.

In the course of this research, you may stumble upon trends that could impact your microbrewery.

Your market research could reveal that craft beer may be gaining popularity in your area, which could present a potential opportunity for your microbrewery. Additionally, your research may uncover that there is a demand for more unique flavors in the craft beer industry, which could be an area to explore for your microbrewery.

Such market trends play a pivotal role in revenue forecasting, as they provide essential data regarding potential customers' spending habits and preferences.

By integrating these findings into your financial projections, you can provide investors with more accurate information, enabling them to make well-informed decisions about investing in your microbrewery.

Developing the sales and marketing plan for a microbrewery

Budgeting sales and marketing expenses is essential before creating a microbrewery business plan.

A comprehensive sales and marketing plan should provide an accurate projection of what actions need to be implemented to acquire and retain customers, how many people are needed to carry out these initiatives, and how much needs to be spent on promotions, advertising, and other aspects.

This helps ensure that the right amount of resources is allocated to these activities in order to hit the sales and growth objectives forecasted in your business plan.

The staffing and equipment needs of a microbrewery

Whether you are at the beginning stages of your microbrewery or expanding its horizons, having a clear plan for recruitment and capital expenditures (investment in equipment and real estate) is vital to ensure your business's success.

To achieve this, both the recruitment and investment plans must align coherently with the projected timing and level of growth in your forecast. It is essential to secure appropriate funding for these plans.

Staffing costs could include salaries for brewmasters and other personnel, such as brewers, clerks, and janitorial staff. Equipment costs could include a grain mill, fermentation tanks, bottling line, kegs, keg washer, and other necessary supplies, such as hoses and piping.

To create a financial forecast that accurately represents your business's outlook, remember to factor in other day-to-day operating expenses.

Now that you have all the necessary information, it's time to dive in and start creating your business plan and developing the financial forecast for your microbrewery.

What goes into your microbrewery's financial forecast?

The objective of the financial forecast of your microbrewery's business plan is to show the growth, profitability, funding requirements, and cash generation potential of your business over the next 3 to 5 years.

The four key outputs of a financial forecast for a microbrewery are:

• The profit and loss (P&L) statement,
• The projected balance sheet,
• The cash flow forecast,
• And the sources and uses table.

Let's look at each of these in a bit more detail.

The projected P&L statement

Your microbrewery forecasted P&L statement enables the reader of your business plan to get an idea of how much revenue and profits your business is expected to make in the near future.

Ideally, your reader will want to see:

• Growth above the inflation level
• Expanding profit margins
• Positive net profit throughout the plan

Expectations for an established microbrewery will of course be different than for a startup. Existing businesses which have reached their cruising altitude might have slower growth and higher margins than ventures just being started.

The projected balance sheet of your microbrewery

The balance sheet for a microbrewery is a financial document that provides a snapshot of your business’s financial health at a given point in time.

It shows three main components: assets, liabilities and equity:

• Assets: are resources owned by the business, such as cash, equipment, and accounts receivable (money owed by clients).
• Liabilities: are debts owed to creditors and other entities, such as accounts payable (money owed to suppliers) and loans.
• Equity: includes the sums invested by the shareholders or business owners and the cumulative profits and losses of the business to date (called retained earnings). It is a proxy for the value of the owner's stake in the business.

Examining the balance sheet is important for lenders, investors, or other stakeholders who are interested in assessing your microbrewery's liquidity and solvency:

• Liquidity: assesses whether or not your business has sufficient cash and short-term assets to honour its liabilities due over the next 12 months. It is a short-term focus.
• Solvency: assesses whether or not your business has the capacity to repay its debt over the medium-term.

Looking at the balance sheet can also provide insights into your microbrewery's investment and financing policies.

In particular, stakeholders can compare the value of equity to the value of the outstanding financial debt to assess how the business is funded and what level of financial risk has been taken by the owners (financial debt is riskier because it has to be repaid, while equity doesn't need to be repaid).

The cash flow forecast

As we've seen earlier in this guide, monitoring future cash flows is the key to success and the only way of ensuring that your microbrewery has enough cash to operate.

As you can expect showing future cash flows is the main role of the cash flow forecast in your microbrewery business plan.

It is best practice to organise the cash flow statement by nature in order to show the cash impact of the following areas:

• Cash flow generated from operations: the operating cash flow shows how much cash is generated or consumed by the business's commercial activities
• Cash flow from investing activities: the investing cash flow shows how much cash is being invested in capital expenditure (equipment, real estate, etc.) either to maintain the business's equipment or to expand its capabilities
• Cash flow from financing activities: the financing cash flow shows how much cash is raised or distributed to financiers

Looking at the cash flow forecast helps you to make sure that your business has enough cash to keep running, and can help you anticipate potential cash shortfalls.

Your microbrewery business plan will normally include both yearly and monthly cash flow forecasts so that the readers can view the impact of seasonality on your business cash position and generation.

The initial financing plan

The sources and uses table or initial financing plan is a key component of your business plan when starting a microbrewery.

It shows where the capital needed to set up the business will come from (sources) and how it will be spent (uses).

This table helps size the investment required to set up the microbrewery, and understand how risks will be distributed between the business owners, and the financiers.

The sources and uses table also highlights what the starting cash position will be. This is key for startups as the business needs to have sufficient funding to sustain operations until the break-even point is reached.

Now that you have a clear understanding of what will go into the financial forecast of your microbrewery business plan, let's have a look at the written part of the plan.

The written part of a microbrewery business plan

The written part of a microbrewery business plan plays a key role: it lays out the plan of action you intend to execute to seize the commercial opportunity you've identified on the market and provides the context needed for the reader to decide if they believe your plan to be achievable and your financial forecast to be realistic.

The written part of a microbrewery business plan is composed of 7 main sections:

1. The executive summary
2. The presentation of the company
3. The products and services
4. The market analysis
5. The strategy
6. The operations
7. The financial plan

Let's go through the content of each section in more detail!

1. The executive summary

The executive summary, the first section of your microbrewery's business plan, serves as an inviting snapshot of your entire plan, leaving readers eager to know more about your business.

To compose an effective executive summary, start with a concise introduction of your business, covering its name, concept, location, history, and unique aspects. Share insights about the services or products you intend to offer and your target customer base.

Subsequently, provide an overview of your microbrewery's addressable market, highlighting current trends and potential growth opportunities.

Then, present a summary of critical financial figures, such as projected revenues, profits, and cash flows.

You should then include a summary of your key financial figures such as projected revenues, profits, and cash flows.

Lastly, address any funding needs in the "ask" section of your executive summary.

2. The presentation of the company

As you build your microbrewery business plan, the second section deserves attention as it delves into the structure and ownership, location, and management team of your company.

In the structure and ownership part, you'll provide valuable insights into the legal structure of the business, the identities of the owners, and their respective investments and ownership stakes. This level of transparency is vital, particularly if you're seeking financing, as it clarifies which legal entity will receive the funds and who holds the reins of the business.

Moving to the location part, you'll offer a comprehensive view of the company's premises and articulate why this specific location is strategic for the business, emphasizing factors like catchment area, accessibility, and nearby amenities.

When describing the location of your microbrewery, you could emphasize its potential to draw in customers from the surrounding area. You may mention that the location is situated in a busy area with easy accessibility from the main roads, and could be easily noticed by potential customers. You could also point out the benefits of being in a diverse community, as it could bring in customers from a variety of different backgrounds. Additionally, you might mention that the location has potential to become a popular destination for tourists due to its proximity to popular attractions and amenities. Finally, you could highlight the potential of the location to build a loyal customer base due to the potential for word-of-mouth marketing from the local community.

Lastly, you should introduce your esteemed management team. Provide a thorough explanation of each member's role, background, and extensive experience.

It's equally important to highlight any past successes the management team has achieved and underscore the duration they've been working together. This information will instil trust in potential lenders or investors, showcasing the strength and expertise of your leadership team and their ability to deliver the business plan.

3. The products and services section

The products and services section of your business plan should include a detailed description of what your company offers, who are the target customers, and what distribution channels are part of your go-to-market. 

For example, your microbrewery could offer customers a variety of handcrafted beers, such as lagers, ales, stouts, and IPAs. You could also offer growlers of beer to go, so customers can enjoy their favorite beers in the comfort of their own homes. Lastly, your microbrewery could offer brewery tours and tastings, allowing customers to learn more about the beer-making process and sample different beers. This would be a great way for customers to experience the unique flavors of the beers your brewery has to offer.

4. The market analysis

When you present your market analysis in your microbrewery business plan, it's crucial to include detailed information about customers' demographics and segmentation, target market, competition, barriers to entry, and any relevant regulations.

The main objective of this section is to help the reader understand the size and attractiveness of the market while demonstrating your solid understanding of the industry.

Begin with the demographics and segmentation subsection, providing an overview of the addressable market for your microbrewery, the key trends in the marketplace, and introducing different customer segments along with their preferences in terms of purchasing habits and budgets.

Next, focus on your target market, zooming in on the specific customer segments your microbrewery aims to serve and explaining how your products and services fulfil their distinct needs.

For example, your target market might include craft beer enthusiasts. These are people who appreciate the flavor and variety of craft beer, and actively seek out new local microbreweries. They are willing to pay more for specialty beers, and take pride in their knowledge of the craft beer industry.

Then proceed to the competition subsection, where you introduce your main competitors and highlight what sets you apart from them.

Finally, conclude your market analysis with an overview of the key regulations applicable to your microbrewery.

5. The strategy section

When crafting the strategy section of your business plan for your microbrewery, it's important to cover several key aspects, including your competitive edge, pricing strategy, sales & marketing plan, milestones, and risks and mitigants.

In the competitive edge subsection, clearly explain what sets your company apart from competitors. This is particularly critical if you're a startup, as you'll be trying to establish your presence in the marketplace among entrenched players.

The pricing strategy subsection should demonstrate how you aim to maintain profitability while offering competitive prices to your customers.

For the sales & marketing plan, outline how you plan to reach and acquire new customers, as well as retain existing ones through loyalty programs or special offers.

In the milestones subsection, detail what your company has achieved thus far and outline your primary objectives for the coming years by including specific dates for expected progress. This ensures everyone involved has clear expectations.

Lastly, in the risks and mitigants subsection, list the main risks that could potentially impact the execution of your plan. Explain the measures you've taken to minimize these risks. This is vital for investors or lenders to feel confident in supporting your venture - try to proactively address any objection they might have.

Your microbrewery may face the risk of spoilage or contamination of the beer. This could be caused by inadequate sanitation procedures, improper storage conditions, or a lack of awareness of the safety requirements of the brewing process. Additionally, your microbrewery could also face the risk of legal issues. This could occur if the brewery is not in compliance with state and federal regulations, or if customers have an issue with the product and take legal action.

6. The operations section

In your business plan, it's also essential to provide a detailed overview of the operations of your microbrewery.

Start by covering your team, highlighting key roles and your recruitment plan to support the expected growth. Outline the qualifications and experience required for each role and your intended recruitment methods, whether through job boards, referrals, or headhunters.

Next, clearly state your microbrewery's operating hours, allowing the reader to assess staffing levels adequately. Additionally, mention any plans for varying opening times during peak seasons and how you'll handle customer queries outside normal operating hours.

Then, shift your focus to the key assets and intellectual property (IP) necessary for your business. If you rely on licenses, trademarks, physical structures like equipment or property, or lease agreements, make sure to include them in this section.

You may have key assets such as the brewing equipment and the recipes that make up the unique flavors of the beer. These are your intellectual property, and could be protected by things like trade secrets and patents. You may also have the brand and marketing that set you apart from other breweries, which could be protected by trademarks.

Lastly, include a list of suppliers you plan to work with, detailing their services and main commercial terms, such as price, payment terms, and contract duration. Investors are interested in understanding why you've chosen specific suppliers, which may be due to higher-quality products or established relationships from previous ventures.

7. The presentation of the financial plan

The financial plan section is where we will present the financial forecast we talked about earlier in this guide.

Now that you have a clear idea of what goes in your microbrewery business plan, let's look at the solutions you can use to draft yours.

What tool should I use to write my microbrewery's business plan?

In this section, we will be reviewing the two main solutions for creating a microbrewery business plan:

• Using specialized online business plan software,
• Outsourcing the plan to the business plan writer.

Using an online microbrewery business plan software

The modern and most efficient way to write a microbrewery business plan is to use business plan software.

There are several advantages to using specialized software:

• You can easily create your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you without errors
• You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan
• You can access a library of dozens of complete business plan samples and templates for inspiration
• You get a professional business plan, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank or investors
• You can easily track your actual financial performance against your financial forecast
• You can create scenarios to stress test your forecast's main assumptions
• You can easily update your forecast as time goes by to maintain visibility on future cash flows
• You have a friendly support team on standby to assist you when you are stuck

If you're interested in using this type of solution, you can try The Business Plan Shop for free by signing up here.

Hiring a business plan writer to write your microbrewery's business plan

Outsourcing your microbrewery business plan to a business plan writer can also be a viable option.

Business plan writers are skilled in creating error-free business plans and accurate financial forecasts. Moreover, hiring a consultant can save you valuable time, allowing you to focus on day-to-day business operations.

However, it's essential to be aware that hiring business plan writers will be expensive, as you're not only paying for their time but also the software they use and their profit margin.

Based on experience, you should budget at least £1.5k ($2.0k) excluding tax for a comprehensive business plan, and more if you require changes after initial discussions with lenders or investors.

Also, exercise caution when seeking investment. Investors prefer their funds to be directed towards business growth rather than spent on consulting fees. Therefore, the amount you spend on business plan writing services and other consulting services should be insignificant compared to the amount raised.

Keep in mind that one drawback is that you usually don't own the business plan itself; you only receive the output, while the actual document is saved in the consultant's business planning software. This can make it challenging to update the document without retaining the consultant's services.

For these reasons, carefully consider outsourcing your microbrewery business plan to a business plan writer, weighing the advantages and disadvantages of seeking outside assistance.

Why not create your microbrewery's business plan using Word or Excel?

Using Microsoft Excel and Word (or their Google, Apple, or open-source equivalents) to write a microbrewery business plan is a terrible idea.

Why?

For starters, creating an accurate and error-free financial forecast on Excel (or any spreadsheet) is very technical and requires both a strong grasp of accounting principles and solid skills in financial modelling.

As a result, it is unlikely anyone will trust your numbers unless - like us at The Business Plan Shop - you hold a degree in finance and accounting and have significant financial modelling experience in your past.

The second reason is that it is inefficient. Building forecasts on spreadsheets was the only option in the 1990s and early 2000s, nowadays technology has advanced and software can do it much faster and much more accurately.

And with the rise of AI, software is also becoming smarter at helping us detect mistakes in our forecasts and helping us analyse the numbers to make better decisions.

Also, using software makes it easy to compare actuals vs. forecasts and maintain our forecasts up to date to maintain visibility on future cash flows - as we discussed earlier in this guide - whereas this is a pain to do with a spreadsheet.

That's for the forecast, but what about the written part of my microbrewery business plan?

This part is less error-prone, but here also software brings tremendous gains in productivity:

• Word processors don't include instructions and examples for each part of your business plan
• Word processors don't update your numbers automatically when they change in your forecast
• Word processors don't handle the formatting for you
• ...

Overall, while Word or Excel may be viable options for creating a microbrewery business plan for some entrepreneurs, it is by far not the best or most efficient solution.

Microbrewery business plan template

The Business Plan Shop has a range of business plan templates to help you write a plan to present to investors or lenders.

Our templates contain a complete written example of a business plan with both the financial forecast and the written presentation of the company.

Our templates can be downloaded in Word or PDF, or loaded inside our business plan software to be used as a starting point for your own business plan.

We have a dedicated microbrewery business plan template.

Takeaways

1. A business plan has 2 complementary parts: a financial forecast showcasing the expected growth, profits and cash flows of the business; and a written part which provides the context needed to judge if the forecast is realistic and relevant.
2. Having an up-to-date business plan is the only way to keep visibility on your microbrewery's future cash flows.
3. Using business plan software is the modern way of writing and maintaining business plans.

We hope that this practical guide gave you insights on how to write the business plan for your microbrewery. Do not hesitate to get in touch with our team if you still have questions.

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• 3-year business plan PDF
• Business plan financial projections example
• Key steps to write a business plan?
• Free business plan template

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