Athletic Brewing raises $50 million as nonalcoholic wave sweeps beer making

cnbc.com:

Leading nonalcoholic brewer Athletic Brewing Company announced Tuesday it's raised an additional $50 million in equity financing in a round led by General Atlantic. 

The company expects General Atlantic to «ultimately invest significantly beyond that,» Athletic CEO and founder Bill Shufelt told CNBC's «Squawk Box» Tuesday morning. The brewer plans to use the latest investment to increase production capacity and expand its offerings at global retailers to meet rising consumer demand for nonalcoholic beer.

«We are passionate about transforming the way modern adults drink and converting critics into believers. We're at the start of a long-term trend, and we couldn't be more excited to have General Atlantic by our side as Athletic begins its next phase of growth,» the company said in a press release.

Athletic Brewing launched its nonalcoholic craft brewing facilities in 2018 and has since grown to become the 10th largest U.S. craft brewery and 20th largest overall U.S. brewing company, despite only offering nonalcoholic options, according to rankings by the Brewers Association. 

Athletic holds over 19% market share within nonalcoholic beer and is driving 32% of total nonalcoholic beer category growth, according to NielsenIQ data.

«Revenue has more than doubled since our Series D [funding round] about 18 months ago,» Shufelt said on CNBC.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday the company's valuation has also doubled with the latest fundraising and now stands at $800 million.

The company currently has two brewing facilities in the U.S., one in Milford, Connecticut, and the second in San Diego. Athletic recently announced the purchase of a third U.S. brewing facility, also located in San Diego. Once operational, Athletic