CUMMING, GEORGIA -- Walsall Football Club in Walsall, England announced Thursday that NoFo Brew Co, North Georgia-based craft beer and spirits brand, will be the team's new front-of-shirt sponsor.
NoFo partnered with the EFL League Two club in 2022, and since has sponsored warm-up t-shirts, provided NoFo beers at matches, and built a hospitality suite, "The NoFo Suite."
Joe Garcia, co-founder and CEO of NoFo Brew Co, said that after taking many steps forward in their partnership with Walsall over the years, it made sense for the relationship to grow into the NoFo name on the front of home and away kits. Garcia also hopes the exposure helps build brand, overseas and at home in Georgia.
"One of the unique things we're doing as a brand is growing internationally, so this partnership in the UK with Walsall Football Club and beyond, it's just going to give us more broader brand exposure, and help us get the NoFo name out,” said Garcia. "Between ESPN Plus, Paramount Plus, and then in the UK, Sky Sports Plus picking up, it's gonna be great. A big part of what we're up to as a brand is growing internationally."
NoFo's experience with Walsall will be beneficial in more ways than just brand building. With the FIFA Club World Cup being in America this summer, and the World Cup in North America next summer, NoFo will have many opportunities to provide a top experience for fans looking for a craft-beer-meets-soccer experience.
"I think the viewership is going to be incredible," Garcia told Jason Longshore of Soccer Down Here and Atlanta Soccer Tonight. "We'll, obviously, have it on and be showing it. But also the interest in soccer and football overall [is growing rapidly]."
Which beers does NoFo provide overseas? Swift Lager is made for the Bescot Stadium and the club and was named after the Walsall FC mascot, Swifty. Cowboy's Payday is one of NoFo's flagship hazy IPAs here in Georgia, and it's available in England. As well as a light session stout called Saddlers Stout that Garcia says Walsall fans love. Garcia said they received advice about the English palate before deciding what beers to produce in England.
"Some of the advice we got was, 'hey, we have plenty of English beer and plenty of craft beer of our own here,' Garcia started. "What we really want is we want the American craft [beers], we want the American style. So don't necessarily modify what you're doing to try to conform, bring your American styles here as a different expression."
Outside of a slight modification to lower alcohol content because the UK market tends to be accustomed to "drinking lighter ABV beers," the brewery did exactly as asked and provided Walsall FC and close to 100-150 accounts throughout England American styles that have been widely successful for NoFo. Garcia says you can find NoFo beer as far north as Manchester and as far south as London. And that footprint continues to grow.
NoFo's relationship with Walsall FC has grown every year since its inception, and NoFo beer is being consumed in more and more taprooms. What's next?
NoFo Brew Co also has a front-of-kit sponsorship in place with Drogheda United Football Club in Ireland, and provides NoFo beers there. Add in the fact that Garcia's business partners Bryan and Shannon Miles are investors in a multi-club investment group with a roster of four international clubs, and it's easy to see a pattern.
"We really like this idea of partnering with football clubs and then having that as a jumping off point to introduce our beer," Garcia said. "We're actively looking for football clubs around Europe that we can partner with to bring our brand to craft beer-friendly nations."
It's not just overseas where NoFo has its sights set. It might not be too long before NoFo uses a similar strategy to focus on soccer in the United States. Garcia said he's very interested in regional partnerships close by.
"Who else can we partner with at other tiers in the soccer system in the US, as a partnership with our brand that would then allow us to introduce our brand into a state beyond just the soccer club," Garcia explained. Instead of introducing NoFo beer in different states and looking for ways to market and distribute their beer, Garcia likes the notion of building a relationship with a team, and with a fanbase first.
"If you look at the markets that we want to be in in the Southeast, all of those have soccer clubs of some kind," Garcia said. "What if our partnership with the soccer club in one of those markets is the jumping off point [to] distributing our brand wider outside of the stadium or club? That's something I'm really interested in."
It's no secret soccer and beer go extremely well together. NoFo Brew Co has not only captured that spirit, but they've learned that embracing the intersection of sports and craft beer not only provides a top-notch experience for fans, it welcomes a stronger relationship between community and brewery. And when you include a sports club into that relationship it can forge a passionate bond that few ever forget.