Molson Coors has acquired Cruz Blanca, the Chicago-based, Mexican-inspired beer brand, Brewbound has confirmed.
The transaction closed this month for Cruz Blanca’s intellectual property (IP). Specific financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
The acquisition was first reported by Beer Crunchers.
Cruz Blanca co-founder Manny Valdes and head brewer Jacob Sembrano will remain with the brand, with the latter viewed as a “key” figure in “scaling the brand and future innovation,” a source shared with Brewbound. The founders also retained ownership of Cruz Blanca’s brewpub, which will continue to use the IP under a licensing agreement.
The deal nets Molson Coors a premium Mexican-inspired but American-created beer brand to add to its above premium portfolio, which includes Blue Moon and Peroni Nastro Azzurro; flavored alcoholic beverages (Simply Spiked, Happy Thursday, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, among others) and non-alcoholic offering ZOA energy drink.
The Cruz Blanca deal marks Molson Coors’ second transaction this month aimed at shoring up its above premium portfolio, following the deal to take a majority stake in ZOA.
Molson Coors has made above premium an integral part of its 2025 strategy.
Cruz Blanca and Molson Coors had a prior relationship, with the global brewer helping expand the smaller brewery’s distribution to Texas via Revolver Brewing, which the company sold in part of its divestment of craft brands to Tilray Brands earlier this year.
The questions moving forward for Cruz Blanca will be how Molson Coors scales the brand compared to its past acquisitions, how much money is invested to build its awareness and how much time it is given to grow.
In addition to a traditional Mexican lager, Cruz Blanca’s portfolio includes light beer, hazy IPA, Vienna lager and a lime and sea salt chelada.
Cruz Blanca produced an estimated 532 barrels of beer in 2023, according to data from the Brewers Association, making it smaller than any of the previous craft brands, which had output in the tens of thousands.