Why Voodoo Launched 2 Brands into Stovepipe 19.2oz Cans

Creating inroads with your distributor and strengthening that relationship can help build a successful plan for sales.

For Voodoo Brewing, CMO Tom Guzick said when it came time to add the 19.2-ounce can format for the brewery, a new brand had to be created.

Thunder Lizard is a 9.3% ABV Imperial IPA hopped with US Idaho 7 Cryo and Cashmere Cryo along with hand-selected Citra from YCH and was specifically created for 19.2 oz cans.

“A lot of the data, research, and demands from our consumers showed that they were looking for a big ABV, Imperial IPA, especially in the larger format,” Guzick said. “We wanted to create something that would stand apart from the other 19.2 oz offerings that not only tasted great but stood out from a visual perspective with our Tom Ness Artwork.

“We just didn’t want to make the same beer and put a different hop or fruit in it and change the Mascot’s outfit and add the word space or juice to it.”

In turn, capitalizing on the brewery’s popular American Lager brewed in collaboration with the rock band Styx also seemed the right beer to add to make a pair of brands to launch into distro.

The 6% ABV Oh Mama brand’s inspiration for the name and artwork comes from the Styx hit song “Renegade” which is commonly played at Acrisure Stadium as an anthem for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the third quarter.

“When we decided to invest into the 19.2 oz can format, it just made sense to start off by offering these two brands,” Guzick said. “Thunder Lizard was specifically designed for the 19.2 cans, while the next evolution of Oh Mama has always been the 19.2 oz format, for your stadium, concert, tailgating, or house party needs.”

Creating a transition was pretty seamless to add stovepipe cans into the system with the brewery’s ProBrew ProFill filler/seamer along with the Ska and MCE conveyance equipment then a single-file depalletizer of cans overhead as they descend toward the filler via an A&E Conveyor Systems Inc. twist rinser.

The adjustment, Guzick said, only required the purchase of a 19.2oz twist rinse and raising the filler/seamer to the appropriate height.

“This was one of many attractive elements in this setup, that we could run an array of various formats of cans,” he told Brewer.

Most importantly, adding these formats was attractive to on- and off-prem beer buyers.

“It definitely strengthens the relationship,” Guzick said. “It shows you are willing to adjust to the market demands and create new products and formats that distributors are looking to add to the portfolio in order to continue to meet the demands of their particular market and consumer base.”