The Future of Craft Beer - Private Labels
Future of Craft Beer
In this new series, we will examine trends in craft beer and point to where the industry is headed. Craft beer has exploded over the last decades, new breweries are opening and new beers brewed every week. It is impossible to keep up with everything going on. It has never been better to be a beer drinker, but it has never been more difficult to be a brewer. To stand out as different requires more work than ever before, gone are the days of producing mediocre beer and being successful. Breweries can increase their own sales and establish themselves as different in a few different ways.
Quality - Producing a quality product, and keeping it consistent and quality. This is a long game played by breweries, where word of mouth of quality is how they can gain market share
Quantity - More Options, new breweries can open up, and new beers can be brewed. This category is nearing saturation if it hasn’t already in some markets. It has been the largest growth sector in craft beer to date, but won’t last forever.
Novelty - Creating a unique experience at breweries or with beers. This can be with tap trails, or unique themes of breweries. An example might be an Arcade Brewery
Scale - A brewery can increase market share by appealing to a larger market, this is usually how the big guys play the game as it requires a large amount of initial capital.
Innovation - A fun category of growth, creating new beers that have never been made before. Sometimes they are good, sometimes…not. But hey, who doesn’t want to give a blueberry milkshake IPA with lactose, soy sauce and chickpeas a try.
Private Labeled Craft Beer
One trend that has been gaining more traction is private labeling of craft beer. This isn’t a new trend, but merely one that has been getting more traction recently. Private labeling has traditionally been done in the food industry, you might think about a grocery store chain that has their own brand of a certain product. Often times, it is made at the same factory as the name brand, but changed slightly to become the generic, off-brand version. Trader Joe’s has become famous for this, having private labeled products from beer, to cookies to frozen food. After reading this article, you too, will start seeing private labeled craft beer all over. Here is a small list of private labeled craft beer I’ve seen over the last 3 weeks.
Chef Geoff’s IPA - On a layover at Dulles International Airport in Virginia I stopped and had a beer at a popular local restaurant which has a second location inside the airport, Chef Geoff’s. They have their own brand of IPA which is actually brewed by a few local breweries in Virginia and labeled as its own brand.
IKEA LJUS Lager - Yes, IKEA has beer now. I was able to try it in one of their first markets they have rolled out into, Greece. It is brewed however from Krönleins Brewery in Sweden and marketed as their own brand.
Volkan Santorini - On the island of Santorini, there is a brand of bottled beer named after the Volcano nearby. The brand sources local ingredients from the island, but ships them to mainland Greece to be brewed at a contracted brewery. The bottles are then shipped back to the island.
Private Labeling of craft beer can be a very lucrative business, it can be boosted by the laurels and reputation a brand has gained prior. Expect to see more private labeled craft beer in the future from brands that may have never been in the beer industry prior. A world where local bars and pubs have a house brand of beer, brewed from a different brewery and labeled as their own, is not far.
Have you seen private labeled craft beer where you live?