Wearable Beer Packaging? The Genesis Behind This Genius Marketing Idea from Telluride

Accidentally finding a fun name is the genesis of many great craft beer brands. A name can help generate initial sales when it strikes a chord. That’s the thought process for Telluride Brewing which calls its latest variety 12-pack the “Fanny Pack” and the brewery includes belt loops for consumers to cut out, making the box wearable.

“Naming beers/packages is one of the most fun, yet surprisingly difficult parts of the job,” said Alex Hoskin, Sales & Marketing for Telluride. “You have no idea how unoriginal you can be until you come up with a list of hilarious beer puns, in-jokes, and brand-related references then Google them and find out they’ve all been done before — usually more than once.”

Fanny Pack, the brewery’s latest variety packaging unit, includes the brewery’s Kolsch-style brew along with an IPA and Session IPA followed by a rotating fourth brand, replaced the brewery’s previously named “Avy Pack” which Hoskin admits was too deep into the branding for the Colorado ski-branded telluride.

“Who the hell knows what an Avy Pack is except a few insane backcountry skiers? And they probably don’t even call their kit an Avy Pack,” Hoskin said. “Fish, our Brewmaster, remembered Tommy, our president, having “a good time” at Telluride Bluegrass, in his words, ‘covered in glitter with a fanny pack full of menthol cigarettes.’ Thus the Fanny Pack was born.

“A few Google searches later, we realized we’d fallen backward (per usual) into something awesome — something that was recognizable, true to our brand, seeing a weird resurgence in pop culture, and luckily not already in use. The 80s-ish theme and idea to put ‘cut here to make your own fanny pack’ on there were just the logical next steps.”

The rebrand debuted in the Spring of 2019, and Telluride changed the beer lineup and graphics around the same time in 2020.

“We saw an immediate uptick in sales with the new name and colorful package, which has continued into this year,” Hoskin said. “We’re not sure how much of the growth in 2020 is due to the rise of larger format and COVID or the rise of fanny packs being cool again, but we’d like to think it’s all due to our genius brand development strategy.

“We’re only a year or so into the Fanny Pack, but it seems to be working so far. At least we don’t have to explain what it means all the time, so that’s a plus.”

Rotating the fourth beer can help generate repeat sales as well and gives the brewery a chance to share some smaller brands in the portfolio.

“We’d like to think our customers are like us,” Hoskin said. “We enjoy the old standbys, but we’re willing to try something new.”

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