Stratford-Based Company Named To TIME Magazine's Top 100 Influential Companies

STRATFORD, CT — Stratford-based Athletic Brewing Company has been named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential Companies of 2022.

Athletic Brewing Company, a craft non-alcoholic brewery, was founded in 2017 after co-founder Bill Shufelt set out to find a non-alcoholic beer that could “satisfy his taste without compromising his lifestyle,” according to its website.

Shufelt, who was looking for a healthier lifestyle and about to get married, set off on his mission after a fateful night when he ordered a “flavorless, watery, metallic non-alcoholic beer,” the story goes. He eventually teamed up with head brewer John Walker and “the rest is history,” the site states.

Athletic Brewing Company also has a brewery in San Diego and is expanding with additional facilities in Milford and Stratford.

“As TIME’s business coverage continues throughout the year, these are the companies we’ll be watching most closely—and we suggest you do the same," TIME Editor in Chief Edward Felsenthal wrote of the magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential Companies, which was unveiled Wednesday.

TIME wrote that “unlike many of its zero-proof competitors,” Athletic Brewing Company is “actually competing with booze giants.”

“Five years ago, when we set out to revolutionize beer for the modern lifestyle - we had an inkling of the size of the movement and impact we could drive,” Shufelt said in a statement posted on the Athletic Brewing Company’s Facebook page.

“Thank you TIME!” the Facebook post reads. “Athletic is honored to be recognized as an Innovator on TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies of 2022! Every day at Athletic, our team strives to live by our values while continuing to re-imagine what award-winning, great-tasting non-alcoholic beer can be. This passion drives us to push forward, and we are so thankful for this acknowledgment.”

Read more at TIME here.

For more information about Athletic Brewing Company, visit its website here and on Facebook here.