New drinks, new brewery, new line – Same high quality

When asked which drink from the business’s broad product range he likes best, John McLean doesn’t have to think twice. “My favourite has always been our traditional Ginger Beer, and that won’t change,” says BBD’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO). “When I was a boy, I often got it as a small reward.” This personal memory succinctly encapsulates what BBD stands for to this very day: their products are more than just drinks – they embody history, personal identity and family-like bonds. And that’s not all: “Bundaberg Ginger Beer is part of Australian culture,” says John McLean. Brewed to a family recipe handed down from generation to generation, it contains the finest locally grown ginger and cane sugar. The brewing process takes up to seven days, giving each brew time to develop its unique flavour. Bundaberg Ginger Beer is filled into the distinctive glass Stubby bottle with ring-pull cap. Every single detail – from ingredients right through to packaging – symbolises top quality and true affection for the product.

New drinks, new markets

For some years now, BBD has been adding craft beverages to its portfolio. “2008 was the year of the global financial crisis, and we kept a very close eye on people’s purchasing behaviour,” recalls John McLean. People did not go to restaurants so often, opting instead for a pub or inviting guests to their home. What’s more, consumers’ taste was also changing. A new, health-conscious public became increasingly doubtful about high-fructose corn syrup and was prepared to pay a bit more for crafted premium products. BBD saw the opportunity to offer top-quality craft beverages for consumption at home as well – and responded with new flavours, including diet variants. 

That was one of the winning schemes that John McLean (who is the husband of Rae-Lee Fleming, the daughter of BBD founder, Cliff Fleming) brought to the family firm. He joined BBD in 1995 and took over as CEO in 2007. “At that time, we sold our drinks to each and every small shop in the region and offered a number of brands.” Today, BBD’s products are sold on a global scale, the biggest markets being New Zealand, the USA, South Korea, China, Germany, and of course, Australia. By creating country‑specific craft beverages, the business can cater to regional preferences while tapping into global trends. The brand‑new tangerine flavour, “Bundaberg Dekopon Mandarin”, developed for the South Korean market, is now also available in Australia and New Zealand.

Plenty of scope for new ideas and growth

Rapid growth soon made it clear that BBD needed to significantly expand its production capacity. While the original brewery, built in 1973, had provided decades of reliable service, it was increasingly being pushed to its limits: “We’d repeatedly modified our plant throughout the years but we knew that sooner or later its capacities would no longer be enough to match demand,” explains John McLean. And Darren Smith, Senior Project and Technical Manager, who has been with BBD for 16 years, adds: “At the old facility, everybody was fighting for space.”

As the business’s international reach continued to grow, BBD took the conscious decision to deepen its roots in Australia and opened a new brewery in its hometown Bundaberg, which clearly reflected the company’s strong commitment to its region and local production. 

A state-of-the-art production facility was built on a 42-hectare site, and its modularised design leaves scope for further growth. “Walls can be removed and additional lines or warehouses integrated,” explains Darren Smith. “That gives us the best possible footing for coping with anything in the decades ahead.” 

Step by step to the perfect set-up

The new facility was also a welcome opportunity to install a new turnkey filling line. It didn’t take long for John McLean to realise who would be the ideal partner for that: “We’ve always been very satisfied with the technology and service support we got from Krones.” The requirements posed by BBD were ambitious indeed: a fully integrated high-speed line combining efficiency and flexible handling of a diverse product range. “The engineers prefer a minimised number of changeovers, but our business demands a high degree of flexibility,” explains John McLean.

BBD opted for a turnkey high-speed line from Krones that includes a Modulfill Bloc RF comprising a rinser and a Modulfill HES filler, plus a Contiflow mixer, a LinaTherm warmer, an Ergomodul labeller and two Variopac Pro W packers. Inspection systems provide real-time detection of even the tiniest deviations in fill level and label placement, thus enabling immediate corrections. 

The line achieves an output of up to 51,000 bottles per hour and is thus one of the world’s fastest filling lines for glass bottles with ring-pull cap. The complete product portfolio of around 50 stock keeping units is filled on this line. The requisite flexibility is made possible by short changeover times and easy switching between different labelling and packaging modules.  

Installation of the filling line began in early 2023, and production started in mid-2023. “Everything went smoothly, but the operators had to put a steep learning curve behind them,” recalls  CEO John McLean. Krones provided the requisite training, thus helping the BBD team to develop efficient work routines. “Today, all of them know each machine’s heartbeat,” is how John McLean puts it, “and they are able to remedy any malfunction within a matter of minutes.” In November 2025, over one million bottles were filled on a single day – possible not least thanks to the integration of digital solutions.

Tradition that is carried into the future

John McLean is thrilled with the new line’s precision and flexibility: “Repeatability is phenomenal, quality is second to none. That massively increases our efficiency.” For him, the line is more than just an efficiency-boosting tool, it is part of the family’s long-term strategy: meticulous brewing, long-range planning, always putting quality first. “My wife and I see the business as an heirloom that we’re keeping safe for the next generation and will eventually pass on to them,” he emphasises. His daughters are now working within the business, gaining experience across different areas and being prepared step by step for future roles. BBD thus demonstrates that top quality, creative products and a clear-eyed view of the future go hand in hand, and the next generation is ready and waiting to continue the company’s success story.