Irish brewer calls out Electric Picnic for excluding smaller businesses through exclusive beer sponsorship
“The festival claims to be sustainable, but despite our three national sustainability awards, we’re still not allowed in.”
The owner of a small brewery in Stradbally, County Laois has taken to social media site X (formerly Twitter) to ask why he is unable to sell the brand’s beers at Electric Picnic.
“Ballykilcavan brewery is just 2.5km from the site of the Electric Picnic (@EPfestival), but we are not allowed to serve our beers there,” the producer stated.
“The festival claims to be sustainable, but despite our three national sustainability awards, we’re still not allowed in.”
This was accompanied by a video with the brewery’s David Walsh-Kemmis in which he stated that “a lot of people [were] asking” why the brewery didn’t have a presence and couldn’t be purchased at the festival.
A deal had been done between the festival organisers and “a very large multinational Dutch brewing company” that involved full exclusivity, Walsh-Kemmis said.
He also stated in the video that the festival’s website emphasises the importance of supporting local and sustainability initiatives.
The video ends by advising viewers that SuperValu Stadbally has also been “fantastic supporters” of the brewery and that “a four-can Picnic Pack” can be bought there and carried into the festival.
To view the video and the reaction it has attracted, click here.
