In an industry that can be quite dynamic, flexibility isn’t just a business strategy in the craft beer industry, it’s a necessity. From shifting consumer preferences to supply chain challenges and evolving trends or unique collaborations, brewery owners must continually adapt to stay competitive.
Sometimes being overly rigid in your business practices can leave your company behind, while those that embrace change often uncover new opportunities for growth and innovation.
“We’re constantly evolving our business and model every single year,” Badger State Brewing’s Andrew Fabry recently told Brewer in a Brewer Mag Q&A. “The way we see it, if you aren’t growing, you’re dying.”
Here are some adaptations these brewery founders and owners have made in their business practices over these past few years to stay competitive.
Broader Brand Appeal: Being over with the craft beer crowd is one thing, but being able to expand your consumer base beyond that is a growth sustainer. Along with suggesting to focus on taproom sales, Evil Twin’s Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsoe, said the New York brewery is looking at getting “non-beer nerds” to show up as well.
“Because at the end of the day they are the ones that’s going to pay the bills,” Jarnit-Bjergsoe said.
Kitchens Matter: Before 2020 you didn’t see much about breweries dealing with food unless it was already a brewpub or a food truck was outside. Now? Food matters and having a kitchen is how Nashville’s TailGate Brewery has adapted. Food is a lot like beer, said founder Wesley Keegan: It’s easy to make bad beer, and it’s easy to make bad food.
“Good beer, good food, is hard,” he said. “We’ve pretty much always run a full pizza kitchen in our taprooms. And we continue to today with all nine of our taprooms. It’s a big challenge.”
Keep Consumers There: On-site taproom sales mean better margins and although Side Project’s Cory King said they are very proud of having done that for years, adding another element can keep a consumer around for another pint. Be it some entertainment element (like pinball, pickleball, music or a rotation of events) the ability to implement a food program matters and it’s taken off for the St. Louis brewery.
“We have invested in a new food program at our locations, to be more inviting for everyone, even those who do not want a beer or drink,” King said. “This has also made our places more hospitable for many of our employees and ourselves, those of us who have children and need a place to sit, relax, and give our kids some fries and a board game to enjoy.”
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Boost the Quality: Macro brands have done a great job of blurring the lines between corporate “crafty” beer and actual well-made “craft beer,” said Bolero Snort so-owner Scott Wells. The Carlstadt, New Jersey brewery looks to turn that back around on the big boys and wants to put their brands both on tap at their spot but also local watering holes.
“They need to have well-made beer on tap to draw customers in,” he said. “If you want to tell your customers you care about them, you need to offer them high quality products. The big boys, and the big distributors can’t offer that type of quality. You need to go to your local businesses for it.”
Live Within Your Means: Breweries have to work to do its business leaner and more efficiently these days. Working on lowering COGs along with finding ways to eliminate wasteful spending is paramount. Sometimes that means not exploring ventures that could be risk-heavy.
“We have made an effort to say yes to the right opportunities, and no to the wrong ones,” said Mike Mullaney, President of Goat Island Brewing. “We try to keep our debt levels low and live within our means.”
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