By Diane Silcock
THE founders of the Bomb Squad beer company need no introduction. Springbok rugby players and two-time Rugby World Cup winners, Steven Kitshoff and Malcolm Marx, are ‘brewing’ up a storm when not on the field.
In an interview with Steven Kitshoff, he related how their business idea transpired: “Malcolm and I were roommates on tour and became really good mates. We joked around about starting a business together, sometime in the future. Both of us like drinking beer, and enjoy the sensation that a beer gives you postgame during the rugby season with all your mates, enjoying a couple of beers together.”
A few years down the line, Steven and Malcolm put their heads together and started working actively towards making their passion project become a reality. Steven was based in Cape Town and Malcolm mainly in Japan. While Steven was asking professionals in the beer and alcohol industry in South Africa about the industry and the viability of the business they had in mind, Malcolm was researching different types of beers while in Japan, including packaging design.
With the positive feedback received, they set about registering a company and were fortunate enough to secure their idea of the apt name, Bomb Squad, which Steven gives credit to his wife Aimee for, as she proposed they use the name for both their business and the brand.
Steven and Malcolm were introduced to Saggy Stone Brewing Co., Robertson’s first ‘beer-brewing farm’, through beer and wine maker Dane Raath (who later joined Bomb Squad as their sales manager). Dane has his own beer brand, Cape Collective, which is produced by Saggy Stone.
“Saggy Stone had an unbelievable setup in Robertson,” says Steven. “They are an awesome group of guys to work with. Their master brewer is a legend. They have a well-oiled system in terms of their distribution lines and in the way that they conduct their business, so for us it was an easy option, especially with the very valuable offer they put on the table, enabling us to get into the beer market with our own brand label.”
In working closely with Saggy Stone to develop their first beer, Steven relates how he and Malcolm wanted a beer that they would firstly enjoy, and that was low in alcohol and calories – an easy drinking beer, what they call a session beer. This led to the development of their Lager Draught, a craft beer with a taste profile more towards a light beer that was not too crafty nor too commercial.
Saggy Stone co-owner Andrew Bradley says, “We were thrilled when Steven and Malcolm approached us to create a beer just for them. It was an honour to work with two national heroes. Hosting them at our brewery was a blast—we got to blend our brewing know-how with their passion for rugby, crafting a beer that fits their taste and captures the spirit of teamwork and camaraderie that the sport’s all about. We wanted every sip to reflect their rugby journey.
“Malcolm and Steven came out to the brewery and met with myself and our head brewer, Liam McElhinney, to work out the taste profile and what exactly they were looking for in a beer. The beer was born a few weeks later and all parties were very happy with the end result,” Bradley says.
For the can design, Steven says they contracted Janneman Solms, and gave a lot of input, with Malcolm in particular sharing many ideas of the types of beer he liked in Japan and the clean and simple designs. “We felt that a white can stood out and we chose a very simplistic badge design. Nothing too fancy or over the top. Our aim was to have something striking with a good quality product inside.” This proved successful as the design won a Gold Medal at the 2023 Winemag.co.za Label Design Awards and a Gold Medal under the People’s Choice category.
Saggy Stone brews, cans, labels and distributes the beer nationally and internationally for Bomb Squad. “From our side, Malcolm and I, and our team, focus on the marketing and sales and getting liquid to lips. Our aim is to get our beer into as many restaurants and bars as we can,” says Steven.
The beer is available at Checkers, Pick n Pay, Tops, Ultra, Makro, Liquor City and many independent outlets. It is also available on tap at selected venues and at the Saggy Stone taprooms in Robertson and Somerset West.
Since the launch of Bomb Squad in South Africa in May 2023, the rugby duo has not looked back with their beer being exceptionally well received, winning a Silver Medal at the 2023 National Beer Trophy awards. The Lager also did well during the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and this year it was made available at all the South African rugby test matches.
Following the Lager’s success, a Pilsner draught—a full-bodied beer with a higher alcohol content— was added to the range in May.
“In the last two months,” says Steven, “we have signed a deal in the UK to supply our beer into England, Scotland and Wales, and hopefully Ireland. We have set up a branch in the UK under the Bomb Squad name and have already started brewing and have designed the label. We will probably do the hard launch just before the November Twickenham test match of the Springboks vs England.
The UK venture will be an exact carbon copy of the model used in South Africa when it comes to beer, the website, and merchandise.
Looking ahead, the Springbok duo plan to increase their footprint in South Africa and will continue working on building a customer base that is loyal. Something else on their minds is the opening up of their own bars and restaurants down the line.
“Our aim is to get more people to enjoy the beer, making sure the product keeps moving, that our merchandise is up to scratch so that people enjoy buying it, wearing it and representing the brand. We will continue to host and sponsor events around Cape Town to ensure our customers are happy and satisfied and that we keep growing as a company in that manner,” concludes Steven.
In terms of beer tourism, it is their hope that visitors to South Africa and especially Cape Town, will become aware that there’s a rugby beer out there called Bomb Squad, brewed by a local brewery in Robertson, and that it will hopefully help drive big rugby supporters to watch rugby at Cape Town’s stadium while sipping on a Bomb Squad beer.
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source link
