{"id":439391,"date":"2026-05-22T03:27:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T03:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/439391\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T03:27:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T03:27:09","slug":"speights-150th-anniversary-lion-boss-on-legacy-change-and-beers-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/439391\/","title":{"rendered":"Speight\u2019s 150th anniversary: Lion boss on legacy, change and beer\u2019s future"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt about it that Speight\u2019s has adapted over those years as it\u2019s had challenges thrown down and opportunities presented. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut the other thing is that what the brand stands for has endured, the ideal that it\u2019s a brand for the masses and for all Kiwis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speight\u2019s was founded in 1876 by James Speight, aged 42, Charles Greenslade, 33, and William Dawson, 24.<\/p>\n

The trio met while working at a brewery named Well Park, located on the same block of land as Speight\u2019s home in Dunedin.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe co-founders of Speight’s Brewery, James Speight (left), William Dawson and Charles Greenslade.<\/p>\n

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

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.<\/p>\n

That economic climate, along with the trio\u2019s combined skills as a businessman, maltster and brewer, made for an enduring partnership and gave them the confidence to start their own business venture.<\/p>\n

But the departure of James Wilson, at that point the sole proprietor of Well Park, from his premises on Dunedin\u2019s Rattray St was the catalyst for the trio to take the next step, purchasing the building that is still standing today.<\/p>\n

The trio\u2019s lease for the building took effect on May 1, 1876, a date the founders regarded as marking the birth of James Speight & Co.<\/p>\n

\"Speight'sSpeight’s Brewery in Dunedin, 1889, just over a decade after James Speight, Charles Greenslade and William Dawson purchased the building.<\/p>\n

Baldie says at the time there was already heated competition in the brewing industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were another roughly 10 breweries in Dunedin at the time, it wasn\u2019t as if they saw this blank white space they could step into.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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\u2019s wealthiest city at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The company was granted its brewer\u2019s 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\u2019s first beer went on sale.<\/p>\n

\"AA historical image of Speight’s Dunedin bottling room.<\/p>\n

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

It wasn\u2019t until the company was highly commended in an international exhibition in Sydney in 1879 that the brand became more recognisable and sales increased substantially.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s product garnered more recognition for its quality.<\/p>\n

It became the biggest brewery in the country in 1887, exporting to Australia, Fiji and Tahiti.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe design of Speight’s bottles has evolved over the years, especially from it’s initial branding under J Speight & Co. The bottle second right still has it’s original cork in it, according to Lion.<\/p>\n

New era, same values<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The merger came as a result of the prohibitionist movement that was spreading across New Zealand.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Despite Speight\u2019s being the largest brewery in the country at the time, the scheme was agreed upon on May 26, 1923, with the business sold for \u00a3369,179, equivalent to \u00a319.8 million or $45.4m in 2026.<\/p>\n

\"LionLion chief operating officer and New Zealand country director Craig Baldie.<\/p>\n

Since that transaction 100 years ago, Lion has been owners of the Speight\u2019s brand.<\/p>\n

Lion itself is owned by Japanese beverage giant Kirin, which completed a full takeover of the company in 2009. <\/p>\n

Baldie has worked in the industry for more than 30 years, originally interviewing for a job at Lion Breweries in 1994.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s emissions by about 70%.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Today the company is selling one million litres of beer weekly, representing how the business has scaled dramatically over time.<\/p>\n

\"Speight'sSpeight’s Dunedin brewery recently installed an electric boiler as part of Lion’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n

But the brewing industry has also reached an inflection point, with consumption of beer declining in New Zealand and globally.<\/p>\n

Stats NZ\u2019s latest figures on alcohol consumption showed beer consumption fell by 10% to 265 million litres last year, continuing a longer-term downward trend.<\/p>\n

Despite total beer sales falling in the same year, Speight\u2019s market activity grew by 4.4%.<\/p>\n

Baldie put the growth down to the growing value and popularity of its zero-alcohol and low-carb options.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat Speight\u2019s has done brilliantly, and we\u2019ve done no different, is making sure we\u2019re in lockstep with changing consumer needs. We think both of those options are ripe for Speight\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now low and no-alcohol represents about 4% of beer sales in New Zealand, but there\u2019s nothing that doesn\u2019t tell me it can\u2019t be 8% to 10% in five to 10 years\u2019 time, and we want to be part of leading that.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a full circle moment, Baldie shared that Speight\u2019s had a long history with low-alcohol options, first introducing the option when the six o\u2019clock swill was established.<\/p>\n

The six o\u2019clock 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the thing that keeps us awake at night, and it\u2019s 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?\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Another aspect of an enduring brand is traditions that go beyond the product, with Baldie confirming there are no plans to retire Speight\u2019s bottle top questions, which have been around since the 90s.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on Speight\u2019s legacy of 150 years, Baldie said he had read a recent quote that had stuck with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cProducts come and go, brands should and can last forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.<\/p>\n

Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter<\/a> \u2013 your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cThere\u2019s no doubt about it that Speight\u2019s has adapted over those years as it\u2019s had challenges thrown down…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":439392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64787,27951,95,4624,84023,4282,650,138,10166,15364,12974,70227,71,3273,6176,2193,5829,111,139,69,90,224524,6100,1361,684,80],"class_list":["post-439391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-150th","tag-19th","tag-and","tag-anniversary","tag-beers","tag-boss","tag-brands","tag-business","tag-businesses","tag-century","tag-change","tag-exist","tag-from","tag-future","tag-legacy","tag-lion","tag-many","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-speights","tag-still","tag-that","tag-there","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}