What's Working - Part 3

The craft beer industry is watching a number of its original strategies become stale and begin to wind down, but perhaps that’s only half of the story? The Brewers Association recently shared¹ that over 50% of their members who reported volume numbers at mid-year in 2024, still found growth last year. Noting some degree of response bias, it turns out that beneath the surface of all the negative, attention-grabbing headlines and trends there are endless success stories to be discovered. In the finale of this three part series, the Beer Crunchers readers come together to share what’s working in early 2025 and hopefully get your gears turning.

Paul Reiter, Co-Founder of Great Notion (Portland, OR)

Wholesale has been a major focus for us over the past year and it's finally paying off. For 7-8 years we were such a DTC (e-comm/taproom)-focused business that ignored wholesale. But as our taprooms have slowed as people stopped going out to eat/drink post-pandemic in the Pacific NW, we've had to pay more attention to distribution. Building those relationships with the wholesale partners, retailers and also building wholesale-focused brands is where our energy went most of 2024, and we are feeling good about that path for the next year or so.

Doug Response: Paul brings up two key points that you’ve probably heard me say before, but I can’t say enough. Distributors are your partners, but the trust and payoff from successful relationships doesn’t happen instantly. Both sides need to be looking out for each others’ interests to build trust over time. For a brewer previously focused on their Taproom and E-Commerce customers, the move to distribution requires a more narrow focus to build long term stability. Wholesalers, retailers, and customers without as deep of a connection to the brewery will better wrap their heads around the most proven offerings, instead of getting overwhelmed and lost in a sea of rotation.