Opening a craft brewery involves more than just brewing beer. You need to make people aware of your brand. Of course, most craft breweries don’t have the funds to place their beers in super bowl commercials. However you still have to expand your reach and build a customer base.The bottom line is that people have to love your beer, your brand and what you stand for. We’ve provided six ways you can build your brand in order to accomplish this.
Of course there are a variety of industries that can be your distributors. We suggest connecting with hotels in the area. When beer lovers travel, they want to taste the local brews and oftentimes, hotels don’t seem to offer a beer selection that reflects these options. Also, with the rising popularity of craft beers, even Costco has jumped on the local brewery train. By reaching out to these two options you are one step closer to building your brand name.
Remember when we said people need to love what you stand for? Show them by donating a few kegs to local charity events. Not only does this build trust with your customers, but it also makes you an integral part of the community. Not to mention, you’re exposing more people to your beer and you may become their new favorite brewery.
Now it’s time to think about what makes your brewery so special. Whether it be creativity, lifestyle, culture, etc you’ll want to align your brewery with a brand ambassador that matches these same concepts. Let’s take creativity for example, find an artist or musician and film them talking about how creativity affects their work and why they love your beer so much - because it’s original, unique, etc. In a lot of ways, this is essentially a public relations project where you’re crafting your reputation and style.
This also builds credibility since you have a 3rd party source endorsing your product. Of course, you must always supply your brand ambassador with a lot of delicious beer. Depending on their notability, there may be an opportunity for product placement. For example, if your brewery is choosing to promote a “lifestyle” culture, you may choose a notable surfer as your brand ambassador. Make sure during their competitions that they are supplied with your beer since he or she will be getting a lot of attention at the event.
Brewery Tours have risen due to the popularity of craft beers. Many beer aficionados sign up for these tours whether it be in their local city or when travelling. Reach out to these tour companies and arrange a time to discuss incorporating your brewery into these tours. These companies will be drawing in business you may not have received otherwise, so establishing a good relationship with them is key.
Create recipes for your customers that involves your beers as one of the ingredients. By placing them on your website, blog and linking them to your social media, not only provides additional marketing material, but it encourages your customers to buy more beer. This fun idea will not only make your brewery more memorable, but it engages your customers in your brand while they are away from your location.
You can get really creative with this and come out with new recipes that coincide with holidays or events. You may also suggest recipes and the best beers to pair with the dishes. Some example ideas are as followed.
Nothing boosts credibility like winning awards for your brews. Be sure to research local festivals and brewing competitions and sign up for them! Winning awards will also make it easier to gain more distributors and boost your sales. It also gives you something to promote and market at your brewery and online.
We hope that this article has been of benefit for you. We‘ve been helping small businesses succeed since 2004 and provide them a variety of resources. To check out more helpful tools and tricks, check out our industry page for your business to see how you can continue to grow your business and reach your optimal potential.