Being literally on a faraway island can pose some problems when it comes to connecting to mainland consumers. In a high-tech world, though, Maui Brewing Company has found a way.
The 11-year-old Hawaiian brewery recently unveiled a new lineup of rebranded cans to bring the entire brand under one uniform look. A black bar with a larger presence for the company name with the beer name and a logo becoming a secondary entity was debuted on May 31 to the company’s employees. Those cans will hit shelves soon.
What hit the Internet immediately was the new-look website.
Maui CEO Garrett Marrero told The Brewer Magazine that he was surprised to hear a recent statistic which said that more than 65 percent of consumers get beer information from a brewery’s social media or website. It made it a clear choice that switching to a platform that was mobile-centric was key.
“It’s important that the website ties back to [our new] branding and having a true mobile site was important as well,” he said, noting that less and less people use tablets or desktop computers anymore and mobile devices are keys to promoting the rebrand to potential new consumers.
The new website, revamped by Webmaster Services Hawaii, has the latest information about the beers, the brewpub and events.
Other key functions of the new Maui Brewing website include a beer finder and a way for mainlanders to set up brewery tours before leaving for Hawaii.
The beer finder tool is not just for consumers to track down where to find the closest Maui brew, but it’s also used by the brewery’s sales reps to be able to quickly answer any questions they may have of availability as well.
“It’s a time saver for our team,” Marrero said.
The online tour booking tool is great for Maui because of the severe time difference between Hawaii and the East Coast. Previously, is a consumer wanted to book a brewery tour, they would have to wait until later in the day because of the six-hour difference. Now, a few clicks and they tour can be booked at any time of the day.
“This gives them a way to facilitate that tour simply,” Marrero added.
Maui contracted The Butler Bros of Austin, Texas to lead the brand update and a redesign of the full line of packaging. It collaborated with influential Polynesian tattoo artist Orly Locquiao to create icons for “Bikini Blonde” Lager, “Pineapple Mana” Wheat, “Coconut Hiwa” Porter, “Big Swell” IPA, and “Island” Root Beer.
“All we knew was we wanted to change the cans,” Marrero said of the redesign. “The ideas were all over the place, like a shotgun against the wall. Butler really did help us refine.
“I think we were the 10th craft brewery to go into cans and the redesign has been talked about for a few years, yet it always got relegated to the back burner: a new canning line, building new brewery, or opening new restaurant. I think it was time. It’s been nine years and it was time to evolve.”
Maui recently expanded its new production facility which increases capacity to nearly 100,000 barrels, and is on pace to brew 45,000 barrels in 2016.
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