2025 Craft Beer SWOT Analysis Part 4: Threats

In any beverage category, whether it's a hot new trend or a proven commodity, disruption is inevitable. Having the foresight to recognize threats early on, with a game plan around each, will open the door to turning them into opportunities. The craft beer industry, which saw remarkable growth in the 2010s as every major city became a haven of gathering places featuring fresh flavorful beer, now faces a new set of challenges. The market has grown increasingly crowded and in many cases stale, alongside consumer preferences that continue to evolve away from beer. In this post, we’ll dive into six of the threats confronting the craft beer industry specifically, and explore strategies to overcome them.

1. General Beer Category Decline

Despite originally casting itself in contrast to “big beer”, craft beer’s success is still influenced by the state of the overall beer category, which unfortunately gained a reputation for bloat and calories. Whether due to health & wellness, the economy, or competing beverage trends, if the overall beer market shrinks, craft beer will lose its primary funnel and struggle to maintain the size of its audience. Large beer companies with established and more diversified brand portfolios tend to have more resources to weather these downturns where a typical craft brewery has the majority of its eggs in one basket.

A reduction in beer drinking likely means a shift in consumer attention to other beverages like hard seltzers, spirits, THC-infused drinks, and other non-alcoholic choices, further eroding the customer base for craft breweries. To combat general category declines, craft breweries should exploit the increase in moderation as an opportunity to better position itself as the premium, flavorful treat for those looking to cut down in volume, but still reward themselves with a better option.

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