No matter where I go, there I am…..

Chico, California is a small college town just north of Sacramento.  It is the home of Sierra Nevada originated in the 1980s.  Outside of Sacramento, the closest major market is San Francisco, thus it is no surprise that Sierra Nevada initially targeted that market.  As Sierra developed northern California, they focused on their flagship product, Pale Ale.

As Sierra expanded and moved east, the brewer offered only two other flavors in addition to Pale Ale, a porter and a stout.  Both were available only in six packs.  While at Glazer’s in the early 2000s, we were able to buy the Sierra Nevada distribution rights for the state at which time, we went over 100K cases in sales, more than 90% of which was Pale Ale only.

When New Belgium entered Texas in 1999, their flagship brand was Fat Tire.  While they offered two specialty beers, they also offered two supporting brands, Sunshine Wheat and Blue Paddle. As with Sierra Nevada, Fat Tire represented over 90% of the volume.

Historically, when Jim Koch started Boston, their flagship brand for years was Sam Adams Boston Lager.  It is still that way today, even given the huge amount of flavors Boston now offers.

In the early years of these great crafts, the major markets close to their homes, San Francisco, Denver, and Boston, supported all of the flavors the breweries offered.  As these breweries expanded around the country, it was clear they all were known for their flagship brands.

The industry might call this the “300 mile” rule.  What this really means is when a successful brewery expands outside of a 300 mile radius of its home; its success is predicated on having a leading brand.  Without one, the brewery’s success is limited at best.

Back in the late 1990s, Founders Brewing Co. started brewing in Grand Rapides, Michigan.  For many years it enjoyed solid growth, mostly in its home state, but soon expanded with some success.  In 2010, Founders introduced a seasonal, All Day IPA, a very sessionable beer.  The beer took off like a rocket and is now, by far, Founders’ number one selling brand.  Founders is just beginning to hit the market with a 15-can-pack at 12-pack pricing.  This package could be huge for Founders.  If it is, look to see other crafts doing the same with their cans.

What is important with these highly successful craft brewers is that they have flagship products which anchors their portfolio.  Distributors can build on this and the flagships, in turn, supports the other flavors.  Recent highly successful additions include Sierra Nevada Torpedo, New Belgium Ranger, and Deschutes River Ale, just to name a few.  The personification of this is Boston Lager.  Sam Adams has a huge portfolio of successful brands, yet the new Rebel IPA seems to be the brand of the future, notwithstanding the enormous success of Angry Orchard Cider, which is now included as one of Boston’s leading brands.

Once outside the so called “300 mile” circle of the home market, crafts need the flagship to carry their banner.  Without one, success tends to be difficult, but with one, it becomes a case of “no matter where I go, there I am.”