Essay New Belgium Brewing Marketing Strategy to Expand

Consumer demand for robust ale was not being fulfilled with the current beers on the market. In 1991 Jeff Lebesch and his wife Kim started the company out of their basement. They focused on the rich flavor and unique concept. Their focus on social and environmental responsibility has set them apart from brewing companies on the market. Jeff and his wife wanted to promote a product while being innovative and socially responsible. They designed their core values and mission statement while hiking in a national park (Ferrell, 2010). In addition they wanted to promote the brand and corporate citizenship (Ferrell, 2010). Although the product is alcohol they encourage consumers to be responsible. Also, they have sponsored events, dinners and philanthropic causes to help gain consumer loyalty. In 2013, USA named NBB as 6 out of 15 best brewing companies (Franklin, 2013). Also, the company has increased is competitive advantage with is stance on environmental conscience brewing. They were the first brewery to utilize wind power generator, even with an increase cost of .025 per kilowatt (Asher, Bidner and Greene, 2003). Also, they utilize light tunnels, windows and recycled steam to reduce their carbon footprint (Gorski, 2013). In 2002 NBB participated in the LEED-EB pilot program (Ferrell, 2010). Furthermore, the company donates $1 for every barrel of beer sold to each of the 26 states territories and distributed $700,000 in 2012 (What we are about, 2013). Despite

Political Forces. The political forces affect the beer industry to a large extent. The rates of the beer in various parts of the country are affected by the taxes and duties applied by the Government. The political forces also affect the pricing of the beer by lowering the duties or deregulating the distribution channel. This leads to lower margins for the distribution channel partners. Leinenkugel will need to set up a distributor in the New England area to effectively distribute to this area.

New Belgium is, however, the third-largest craft brewery in the nation, with estimated sales of over $100 million, equaling approximately 700,000 barrels of beer per year. An analysis of the craft beer industry as a whole suggests that there is continued growth potential for New Belgium. Exhibit 5.1 of the New Belgium Brewing (B) case shows that craft beer is the fastest growing segment of the U.S. alcoholic beverage market, with an increase in market share of over 100 percent from 1999-2011. It is also an industry whose customers tend to be extremely loyal, making them less likely to view craft beer as a commodity. Consequently, craft beer has a higher probability of being immune to competition from inferior goods and substitutes. This is particularly applicable to New Belgium’s target market of “beer connoisseurs” that appreciate the high quality and taste of craft beer and who include “executives, lawyers, and accountants” with the continued ability to pay higher prices for craft beer, enabling the craft beer industry to achieve gross margins of up to 30 percent (Clark & Rogler, 2013).

The two brewers were moved to the Springfield plant to implement new ideas and help the 8 brewers to apply them into making the new ale which match Belbin’s idea that Plants are innovators and inventors. They usually prefer to operate by themselves which may explain the difficulty in communicating with the Springfield brewers while also lacking practical constraint. The two NFB brewers may have been identified to join Springfield as Plants are often needed in the initial stages of a project such as the implementation of a new ale to a brewery.

Belgium is known for a culture of high-quality beer and this concept was formulated by an electrical engineer from Fort Collins, Colorado. The electrical engineer, Jeff Lebesch, was traveling through Belgium on his fat-tired mountain bike when he envisioned the same high-quality beer in Colorado. Lebesch acquired the special strain of yeast used in Belgium and took it back to his basement in Colorado and the experimentation process was initiated. His friends were the samplers and when they approved the beer it was marketed. In 1991, Lebesch opened the New Belgium Brewing Company (NBB) with his wife, Kim Jordan, as the marketing director. The first beer and continued bestseller, Fat Tire Amber Ale, was named after the bike ride in

As New Belgium’s distribution continues to expand away from its Colorado based culture, preserving the quality of its brand is key, when making its branding and messaging resonate with consumers in different parts of the country. In certain regions, breweries are widely recognized and accepted; however, in some regions, different variables play a vital role in the decision. The largest geographic concentrations of craft breweries are located in the Pacific Northwest, Northeast, the Great Lakes, and the Mountain West (Reid & Gatrell, 2015, p. 6). Religious beliefs are deemed the reason breweries are not widely accepted in the southern region, which would pose a major obstacle if the New Belgium Brewery (NBB) attempted to expand in the South

New Belgium brewing company is a craft brewery that focuses on more than the just the bottom line. The company actually uses a triple bottom line approach. The company is operated by basic guidelines set forth by its creators. These guidelines are what makes the company so successful today. NBB’s relational advantages are so the source of the company’s most important competitive advantage and the cornerstone of the company’s customer intimacy strategy.

| For the first time in the company’s history, Mountain Man Brewing Company is experiencing declining sales in response to changes in beer drinkers’ preferences. Mr. Prangel’s response to this problem is introducing a “light beer” form of the popular Lager. In the past six years, the “light beer” industry as increased at an annual rate of 4% while sales of traditional beer has been declining annually by 4%. Although this seems like a probable solution, there are two major problems Mr. Prangel is facing: 1.) Mountain Man’s current target market will not approve of this new

Individuals can even make a living off of DIY by selling their products on websites such as Etsy. With the idea of craft beer originating from home brewers it seems only natural that DIY has extended into brewing. Kits and equipment can readily be purchased by hobby brewers online and there are an endless number of websites dedicated to tutorials and guides on brewing best practices (Taylor, 2015). By offering brewing kits or sponsoring brewing education through a website or brewing classes, 603 Brewery could benefit from this trend through increased brand awareness at little cost to the company.

Belgium is home of the finest ales and have been known to brew for centuries. So when Jeff Lebesch, an electrical engineer from Fort Collins, Colorado took a bicycle trip through Belgium it made him realize there may be a market back home to sell Belgian-style ale. Jeff returned home with hopes to experiment and brew his own beer in his basement from the various ingredients he received on his trip. When his friends approved of the ales he started marketing them to the local town. He later opened New Belgium Brewing Company in 1991. His wife, Kim Jordan was the company’s marketing director. They named their first brew “Fat Tire Amber Ale” after Jeff’s

New Belgium Beer started in 1991 in Jeff Lebesch’s basement in Colorado. Since its humble beginnings, New Belgium continues to embrace sustainability, whimsy, and fun culture rooted from its Colorado-based history embracing their founders and employee’s beliefs. As the NBB distribution continues to grow and expand into other states plus other countries away from its Colorado headquarters the organization had learned to market their brand very well thru the internet. Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube in addition to other social media outlets. Social media allows the company to stay in contact with all their loyal customers around the world.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is the name of the leading global brewer. The company has a “portfolio of more than 200 beer brands, including three global flagship beers: Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s” (“Anheuser-Busch”, 2015). Budweiser is an American style lager and was introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch. Adolphus Busch wanted to create the United States first national beer brand. Budweiser became universally popular and has exceeded regional tastes. Budweiser is known as the “King of Beer”. Budweiser is brewed using a “blend of imported and classic American aroma and bittering hops, and a mixture of barley malts and rice,

Industry & Competitive Analysis CHIEF ECONOMIC TRAITS OF THE BEER INDUSTRY The market size of the beer industry is incredible. The wholesale volume in the beer industry is approxiametly $13.7 billion. The industry employes almost 40,000 people. The average worker is paid about $18.27 an hour. As you can see, this is a very large industry which provides many jobs to the american workforce. The market consists of many competitors, some being very large and some operating on a very small scale. The competitive rivalry is broken up into three segments, Natiional, Regional , and Microbrewers. National competitors have a wide market coverage and generally a large company. Regional competitors are smaller than National in the fact that they only

Strengths:The largest producer; Improved productivity; strategic with foreign producers; Two independent distribution Weaknesses:Low volume of sales of nonbeer products; Antitrust restrictionOpportunities:Positive volume growth of beer sales; New and attractive market Threats:Rising foreign firms’ competition; Tariffs elimination; Rising imported ingredients cost

In recent decades the brewing sector, despite its long tradition as local industry, has start to follow the increasing internationalization of economic activities and the globalization of markets, becoming now a global market governed by cross border takeovers and growth through acquisitions.