Celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, Black Fly Beverage Company is buzzing with new products and an incredible story highlighting their growth across Canada.
Rob Kelly previously owned a landscaping business and is one of the co-founders of Black Fly. He had originally been looking to start a craft brewery in London, Ont., as the only brewery there at the time was Labatt. However, his attention shifted and he hasn’t looked back since.
Cathy Siskind-Kelly, Rob’s wife and the other co-founder of Black Fly, joined the dream by helping with the business and regulation side. Originally, their plan was to use Canadian vodka that was already distilled along with Canadian juices, but they quickly realized this too required a distillery license. So, they started trying to source one. In 2005, they were successful and were awarded the first distillery license in Ontario in 100 years. Both Rob and Cathy were learning the business and regulations on the fly.
The first production facility they had secured was directly across from the thriving Canada Life Place where the London Knights play and many entertainment events take place. After a handful of years, they outgrew the location and moved into a 6,000 square foot facility just off Veterans Memorial Highway, allowing them to increase their lineup and their staffing capabilities.
After a few years at this location, Black Fly moved again due to growth. This move allowed for an expansion to include a 250-can-per-minute canning line in addition to their plastic bottling line. Today, they are housed in a 225,000 square foot facility that has a second canning line with the capability of producing 1,750 cans per minute, one of the fastest canning lines in North America. All of this significant facility growth has occurred since 2020, with a bag-and-box line being the final line installed two years ago. They are now serving as a co-packer for other brands in the beer, wine, ready-to-drink and non-alcoholic industries.
One of the things that set Black Fly Beverage Company apart early on was their innovative packaging, focusing on changing the landscape of what could be done in the cooler industry. They use wide mouth PET recyclable plastic bottles with resealable caps, becoming the perfect beverage for outdoor activities or anywhere requiring a non-breakable beverage container. Their addition of canned products and a boxed Spiced Rum Mulled Cider show they are open to pushing the boundary of what a ready-to-drink cooler might look like.
Employing over 300 staff, Black Fly Beverage focuses on keeping their craft vibe culturally, hosting seasonal parties and offering a profit share structure. They have many employees that have been with the company for more than 10 years. Cathy, who has always worn many hats in the business – including product innovation, overseeing brand management and meeting with key buyers across the country – leads many of the marketing initiatives. Martin Kamil is the chief financial officer, chief operations officer and managing director of industrial sales, meanwhile Mike Pearce is the vice president of sales and marketing and Isiah Kelly, Cathy and Rob’s son, is part of the marketing team. Rob and Cathy’s youngest son, Owen, is also working in the business as a sales representative in Toronto.
We want to make sure we can work with the smaller craft guys too, because that’s where we once started.
Mike Pearce, Black Fly Beverage Company
Black Fly Beverage Company’s growth focus is not only tied to their personnel, clientele and product diversification. The brand also keeps a keen focus on improving their efficiencies, with on-site testing occurring regularly to maintain high standards that allow them to be a key player in the co-packing market. “I don’t think any of us sat here and said we are going to service some of the biggest names in alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in the world from London, Ontario, but here we are,” said Pearce.
Black Fly Beverage Company has won Co-Packer of the Year internationally twice in the last three years from Molson Coors and won various awards from the LCBO, including Medium Supplier of the Year in 2022/2023 with the Black Fly brand. In addition to these larger awards and partners, Black Fly believes it is important to have a diverse portfolio that includes smaller local brands and brands that are scaling up for growth.
“We want to make sure we can work with the smaller craft guys too, because that’s where we once started,” Pearce said.
With one of the fastest producing bottling lines in North America, some state-of-the-art equipment would be expected. In addition to their production lines, Black Fly Beverage Company houses a double deck pasteurizer that can hold 75,000 cans at any given time. They also treat their water with a reverse osmosis system, first purifying it through UV and specialized filters. As their granulated cane sugar became increasingly more difficult to source in the quantities they needed, they made the shift to liquid cane sugar, which is also housed in large tanks. They call their production “pellet to pallet,” focusing on using their own injection and blower moulders.
Their gin and vodka are always sourced from Canada, but they bring in tequila from Mexico and their rum is sourced from the Caribbean through Amsterdam. “We see 22,000 litre tankers arriving daily on-site,” said Pearce. Their spirits are mixed with real fruit juices, never juice blends, and they stick to their mandate of only utilizing real cane sugar, never substituting or using high fructose corn syrup.
The beauty of our products is we don’t have to distill, ferment or brew. We bring everything in, combine it and you can pop a bottle right off the line and it’s ready to go. We’re not stuck sitting and waiting on a lot of stuff or waiting for things to age,” said Pearce.
Currently, Black Fly Beverage Company’s products are available through every liquor board in Canada. In 2011, they won the Small Business of the Year award from the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. That same year, they were also awarded an environmental award for their practices focusing on a reduction in packaging design, lighter bottles for a reduced carbon footprint and recycling initiatives at their plant.
What’s next for Black Fly? An expansion into malt flavours in Ontario and Quebec. “It’s the last channel for us to explore. We’ve worked through other areas of the ready-to-drink category already,” said Pearce.
