CANADA – Two of the biggest Molson Coors facilities in Canada, Chilliwack, and Toronto, have commenced production of non-beer beverages that will lead to thousands of additional hectolitres produced each year.

Production of brands like Vizzy Hard Seltzer and CoorsSeltzer destined for the Western market, and Central Canada in the Chilliwack’s brewery follows a comprehensive operational upgrade from early 2022.

The upgrades prepared the team for changes that took place at the Fraser Valley Brewery, and they dovetail with Molson Coors’ environmentally responsible brewing process.

The facility, which opened in 2019, is equipped with technologies that will not only add production capabilities but also help in decreasing the company’s carbon footprint, as well as its energy and water consumption through practices such as carbon dioxide recycling.

The new tech will thus reinforce the brewery’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives in the local community.

“Investing in our brewing capabilities is a top priority for Molson Coors,” said David Hamel, Molson Coors’ general manager of operations for Western Canada.

“This upgrade supports many of our commitments as a company – from modernizing our operations in Chilliwack, to unlocking additional brewing capacity for our above-premium brands, to doing so responsibly by ensuring our facilities are pillars of sustainable brewing for years to come.”

Meanwhile, Molson Coors’ Toronto brewery, founded in 1955 and currently stands as the beverage company’s biggest Canadian facility, next only to Chilliwack’s brewery, can brew 28 different brands, including core brands like Molson Canadian, Coors Light, and Coors Original.

The growing Canadian market for ready-to-drink beverages is estimated at almost three million hectolitres and Molson Coors’ market share in the hard seltzer and soda segment is close to 15 percent and growing, said the company’s officials.

As the biggest brewery under the Molson Coors banner in Canada, Tan Le, Molson Coors general manager of the Toronto Brewery said, the Brewery team is proud to take part in this next chapter of the group’s history.

Recently, the company hinted that it was looking to reverse the collapsing Canadian beer market that has had a declining consumption since 1973, by taking ‘Brewing’ out of its name and turning to seltzers, whiskey, and cannabis drinks.

However, the brewer made an unprecedented move to ties with marijuana producer Hexo Corp and La Colombe Coffee Roasters.

The American beverage giant announced it to be exiting the US CBD beverage market, where it was in business under Truss CBD USA, claiming no near-term pathway to federal legalization and “uncertainty in the market” for cannabis products.

Molson Coors also decided to end ties with Philadelphia-based La Colombe, as the company continues to find its competitive strengths in its emerging growth divisions.

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