Fat Head’s Head Hunter brand has been a mainstay gold medalist in many beer competitions and is well-regarded as a world-class IPA. But unless you visited the Cleveland-area brewery’s taproom locations you wouldn’t find any other Head Hunter varieties until now.
The brewery recently announced its first line extension of the popular brand, adding Jungle Juice Head Hunter to its distribution network.
Although it’s been a popular addition to the taproom, co-founder Matt Cole shared with Brewer that the timing needed to be right, and other breweries looking to create a line extension of their own need patience as well.
“It’s important, of course, that the flagship is well established — enough so that it can successfully extend into an additional brand or brands,” Cole said. “Some people make this move prematurely and both the original and the extension falter as a result.”
Another aspect he points out is that the new brand should be unique enough to own its own space, which helps minimize cannibalization of your flagship.
“That needs to be a consistent message thoroughly communicated,” Cole said. “Head Hunter is such a dynamic and complex beer with so many different aspects that you can put a twist on and explore.”
A version of Jungle Juice has been on tap at the brewery for more than a decade.
He added that the idea of building on the existing Jungle Juice in a way that would let the brewery scale to production and package it year-round became really interesting.
“Infusing various fruit flavors — many of which complement or double-down on some of the tropical hop flavors already present, like grapefruit, pineapple, and passionfruit — we think really leads to a nice spin on classic Head Hunter,” he said. “Jungle Juice may be a little less bitter overall, but we’re still bringing a good amount of flavoring and finishing hops to the brew.
“I think people will find it a refreshing blend of juicy and tropical hops coming together with the piney and dank character that Head Hunter is well known for.”
Creating marketing and branding strategies to differentiate Jungle Juice from its flagship meant creating an educational platform where people will know that while it has the Head Hunter name on the packaging, it possesses its own distinct flavor profile like juicy citrus flavors and big orange zest aromas.
“We had a lot of fun working with orange blossom for this beer and finding the right balance to really give it some nice intriguing fruity character,” Cole said. “We’re making sure from our wholesalers to our sales team to the retailer and eventually the consumer that Jungle Juice is differentiated enough to live alongside, and should never be a replacement for the flagship.
“We see a very different competitive universe for Jungle Juice with minimal overlap to Head Hunter.”
Jungle Juice will enjoy a draft-only sneak preview in February, followed by a wide-scale release in six-pack, 12-pack, and draft in all markets of Fat Head’s existing distribution footprint.
“We want Jungle Juice to live on the shelf next to Head Hunter and our other core package beers like Bumble Berry and Goggle Fogger, so leading with a six-pack makes sense,” Cole said. “C-stores being as important as they are to the category and to our business – a six-pack is a must for that channel.
And with Pennsylvania being just as important to the Ohio brewery and seeing a general movement to large format package sales, the brewery made sure to add Jungle Juice in a 12-pack as well.
“It allowed us to be broader and more inclusive in our launch,” Cole said. “We see the four-pack as more of a super-premium and/or limited-release play for ourselves.
READ MORE: Innovation Ahead! Matt Cole & Chris Allmont Don’t Fear Fat Head’s Hop Experiments
“Hop Juju lives in that format and as an Imperial IPA, we think it makes sense. But we feel very strongly that Jungle Juice can enjoy a broader appeal.”
The brewery used a Head Hunter Variety 12-pack — which included a tropical version, a Simcoe version, and a double dry-hopped along with three cans of the original variety — in 2023 as a frontrunner to this new release.
“It certainly made clear and validated the appetite for new beers under the Head Hunter umbrella,” Cole said. “It really got us exploring and experimenting with Head Hunter – taking it in various new directions.”
Cole said they will start with a small-batch run of Jungle Juice on draft that is going to allow them to really get out and sample with wholesalers and future retail partners with some early, sneak preview releases.
“That run also allows us to can off some samples so that our Sales Team and our wholesalers can really engage retail early with wet samples and storytelling ahead of the full launch in March,” he explained. “We want February to be a strong, excitement-generating ramp-up window that rolls seamlessly into a full-scale March roll-out.
“Obviously Spring chain store re-sets will cascade from March through May and that will be a strong part of our retail strategy. Early on-premise wins and frequent sampling is what we will focus on out of the gate.”
Head Hunter lives at the top of the standard IPA price range, typically around $12.99 for a six-pack and Cole said they want Jungle Juice to grow into a meaningful-sized brand in its own right.
“We felt we needed to price it accordingly – make it premium yet approachable,” he said. “We’re line-pricing it with Head Hunter and think it can find a welcoming audience at that price point.”
Two limited edition takes on Head Hunter will also be a part of the 2025 Fat Head’s lineup, with Imperial Head Hunter arriving in time for National IPA Day in August while Fresh-Hopped Head Hunter arrives in October.
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