Sharad Chadha, chief executive officer of Glendale-based Sprecher Brewing Co., spoke recently at BizTimes Media’s annual M&A Forum, held at the Brookfield Conference Center. In a keynote conversation with BizTimes managing editor Arthur Thomas, Chadha talked about how he went from purchasing the company with a group of investors from founder Randy Sprecher in 2020, to successfully acquiring seven beverage labels and one packaging manufacturer in the span of three years.
“You’ve heard culture eats strategy for lunch, right? Don’t be scared if you or a group of investors is buying a company and you have a vision and you want to take it in a different direction. You have to make those tough calls quickly.”
“You’ve got to put a team together and complete an acquisition in a step-by-step manner. Having done it a few times, it’s important that you follow a sort of playbook.”
“I believe craft soda is where craft beer was 20 years ago.”
“You can buy a (soda) brand for whatever you pay – one- to one-and-a-half times revenue – and you’ve got shelf space already. We’re already doing well. If I’m at a higher level than that, I’m creating shareholder value immediately.”
“As consumers’ tastes become more discerning, why should the Cokes and the Pepsis out there have all these brands (but Sprecher can’t)?”
