Speight’s 150th anniversary: Lion boss on legacy, change and beer’s future

“There’s no doubt about it that Speight’s has adapted over those years as it’s had challenges thrown down and opportunities presented.

“But the other thing is that what the brand stands for has endured, the ideal that it’s a brand for the masses and for all Kiwis.”

Speight’s was founded in 1876 by James Speight, aged 42, Charles Greenslade, 33, and William Dawson, 24.

The trio met while working at a brewery named Well Park, located on the same block of land as Speight’s home in Dunedin.

The region at the time was bustling, with new businesses taking advantage of the wealth generated from the Otago gold rush in the 1860s.

Dunedin itself experienced an influx of about 20,000 immigrants during the early 1870s, giving the region a head start on economic growth compared with the rest of the country.

That economic climate, along with the trio’s combined skills as a businessman, maltster and brewer, made for an enduring partnership and gave them the confidence to start their own business venture.

But the departure of James Wilson, at that point the sole proprietor of Well Park, from his premises on Dunedin’s Rattray St was the catalyst for the trio to take the next step, purchasing the building that is still standing today.

The trio’s lease for the building took effect on May 1, 1876, a date the founders regarded as marking the birth of James Speight & Co.

Baldie says at the time there was already heated competition in the brewing industry.

“There were another roughly 10 breweries in Dunedin at the time, it wasn’t as if they saw this blank white space they could step into.

“I think what they saw was that it was boom time in Dunedin. It must have been incredible to be alive back then to see the optimism and growth, and being part of building probably New Zealand’s wealthiest city at the time.”

The trio took no time before producing their first brew in the building, completing it a month before the group had secured their lease and two months before they had obtained a brewing licence.

The company was granted its brewer’s licence on June 6, 1876, and it was reported in The Otago Daily Times, the first newspaper reference to the brewery, although there is no record of the date that Speight’s first beer went on sale.

Despite an enthusiastic start, the business struggled in its first few years, with competition from the diverse Dunedin market making it hard to grow.

It wasn’t until the company was highly commended in an international exhibition in Sydney in 1879 that the brand became more recognisable and sales increased substantially.

Over the next decade, the brand and the brewery continued to grow, with neighbouring sites leased to the brewery allowing it to expand, while the company’s product garnered more recognition for its quality.

It became the biggest brewery in the country in 1887, exporting to Australia, Fiji and Tahiti.

That same year in August, co-founder James Speight died after his health deteriorated aged 53, just 11 years after the founding of the brewery.

The business and the remaining co-founders went through several significant transitions over the next 130 years, including Dawson going on to become mayor of Dunedin, but none were larger than its merger with nine other breweries in 1923 to form New Zealand Breweries.

The merger came as a result of the prohibitionist movement that was spreading across New Zealand.

The owners of Lion Brewery, Sir Alfred Bankhart of Campbell and Ehrenfried, believed an amalgamation of the largest brewing companies in New Zealand would be advantageous to the industry as a way to counteract the movement.

Despite Speight’s being the largest brewery in the country at the time, the scheme was agreed upon on May 26, 1923, with the business sold for £369,179, equivalent to £19.8 million or $45.4m in 2026.

Since that transaction 100 years ago, Lion has been owners of the Speight’s brand.

Lion itself is owned by Japanese beverage giant Kirin, which completed a full takeover of the company in 2009.

Baldie has worked in the industry for more than 30 years, originally interviewing for a job at Lion Breweries in 1994.

In that time, the company has invested heavily in modernising the brewery and its equipment, including last month unveiling an electric boiler that will reduce the brewery’s emissions by about 70%.

He said when the brewery began it was selling 12 to 15 hogsheads a year, which equated to between 3000 and 4000 litres of beer.

Today the company is selling one million litres of beer weekly, representing how the business has scaled dramatically over time.

But the brewing industry has also reached an inflection point, with consumption of beer declining in New Zealand and globally.

Stats NZ’s latest figures on alcohol consumption showed beer consumption fell by 10% to 265 million litres last year, continuing a longer-term downward trend.

Despite total beer sales falling in the same year, Speight’s market activity grew by 4.4%.

Baldie put the growth down to the growing value and popularity of its zero-alcohol and low-carb options.

“What Speight’s has done brilliantly, and we’ve done no different, is making sure we’re in lockstep with changing consumer needs. We think both of those options are ripe for Speight’s.

“Right now low and no-alcohol represents about 4% of beer sales in New Zealand, but there’s nothing that doesn’t tell me it can’t be 8% to 10% in five to 10 years’ time, and we want to be part of leading that.”

In a full circle moment, Baldie shared that Speight’s had a long history with low-alcohol options, first introducing the option when the six o’clock swill was established.

The six o’clock swill was introduced in 1917 as a temporary wartime austerity measure to encourage sobriety, however, it eventuated in patrons frantically consuming as much beer as possible in public bar rooms between finishing work and the mandatory 6pm pub closing time.

While the market today is not facing pressures like those in 1917, Baldie said it was important as a market leader to ensure the category remained relevant.

“It’s asking what do we need to be doing from a marketing and innovation perspective to ensure that the next generation of drinkers want to pick up a beer, and make sure we play a complementary role in their lives.

“That’s the thing that keeps us awake at night, and it’s the thing we spend most of our time pondering, is that as we see generational shifts like we are today, what do we need to be doing differently?”

Baldie said it was crucial to check in with consumers to understand how their tastes are changing, noting that companies that run into problems inevitably lose touch with their customers.

Another aspect of an enduring brand is traditions that go beyond the product, with Baldie confirming there are no plans to retire Speight’s bottle top questions, which have been around since the 90s.

Reflecting on Speight’s legacy of 150 years, Baldie said he had read a recent quote that had stuck with him.

“Products come and go, brands should and can last forever.”

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.