Jump Ship Brewing has clinched its first major supermarket listing, launching into 61 Scottish Tesco stores on 20 April.
The alcohol-free craft brewer debuted two new SKUs in the launch, just weeks after tying up a £500k raise.
Jump Ship’s most popular drinks, the Yardarm Lager and Jackstaff IPA, will be available for the first time in single 440ml cans.
The company raised a fresh £150k of investment from venture capital firm Mint Ventures and angel investors – including Skyscanner co-founder Gareth Williams – in late March 2026.
Alongside £350k raised from the crowd in December, Jump Ship now has the firepower to double its annual sales in 2026, according to founder Sonja Mitchell.
“We’ve seen strong growth, and there are still a lot of people coming into the category for the first time, so it really feels like now’s the moment to seize that opportunity,” she told The Grocer.
The Tesco Scotland launch is designed to make the most of that chance. By choosing single cans rather than multipacks, and offering both a lager and an IPA, the company has set its sights on attracting new entrants to the category.
“We saw a gap in the category, which has been quite dominated by multipacks,” Mitchell explained.
“[We’d rather have] single cans that can bring people into the category, where you can mix and match, buy something new, and not have to commit to buying four or six beers that you may or may not like.”
She added that the company’s core consumers were craft beer drinkers, who are well used to buying individual cans that take their fancy.
Read more: Jump Ship Brewing’s Sonja Mitchell on tearooms, sailing and Meryl Streep
With the Tesco launch opening up Jump Ship’s access to market, the £500k raise will be dedicated to propelling sales through the company’s largest marketing efforts to date.
In late March, it kicked off a Meta advertising campaign as the first such effort.
“Up to now, we’ve grown very organically, without much marketing spend at all. So, just a few weeks in, it’s great to see we’ve already doubled our online sales. It’s exciting to see when we put our brand in front of a new audience, they really respond to it.”
Having Skyscanner co-founder Williams on board as an investor has only helped. Mitchell called winning his investment “a proud moment”.
“He’s given me some really good advice about how to scale a business, particularly looking at the online world and how to use your marketing spend effectively,” she said.
No comments yet