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(Courtesy Innis & Gunn)
In response to the increasingly competitive US beer market, Scottish brewer Innis & Gunn has revamped its retail strategy for the United States.
Innis & Gunn was one of the first breweries to introduce barrel aging to the US when they launched in 2003. They built their success in America on the back of their unique flagship styles- a scotch whisky barrel-aged ale and a rum barrel-aged ale.
In an ongoing effort to meet the demand of US consumers the brewery continued to by introducing different styles over the years, one of which was an Irish whiskey-barrel aged stout.
Innis & Gunn’s Irish Whiskey Stout quickly became the company’s most popular seller and continues to be a seasonal favorite with both retailers and consumers alike.
In 2018 Innis & Gunn revamped their packaging as part of its global strategy to make the brand more current in today’s craft beer market. The brewery hadn’t changed up its imaging since it launched 16 years ago and its new look paid off almost immediately with a 13% sales increase in the UK.
As with many international breweries, Innis & Gunn’s effort to keep its brand globally consistent was challenged by local market differences.
To address America’s increasingly competitive craft beer landscape, the brewery decided to simplify its packaging with an emphasis on the casks in which the beer is matured, and a focus on its flagship styles, including its classic The Original – Scotch Whisky Cask, Caribbean Rum Cask, and a seasonal style launching just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, Irish Whiskey Cask.
“We recognize that the US beer market is both larger and more complex than other markets,” remarked Crawford Sinclair, Innis & Gunn US Sales Director shared with American Craft Beer…
“We want to focus our packaging around flavor styles and unique cask maturation – the latter of which we are a renowned global authority – clean and simple design and messaging will help us stand out amongst a noisy and cluttered beer shelf.”
In 2018 Innis & Gunn achieved its 15th consecutive year of double-digit volume growth, selling 21M pints of beer in over 30 countries with a portfolio including its award-winning lagers, IPAs, and barrel-aged beers.
The Innis & Gunn facility in Perth, Scotland is currently the company’s home for innovation brewing and barrel-ageing. And the company has announced plans to build first new large-scale brewery in Edinburgh in 150 years to meet exploding domestic and international demand for its leading brand Innis & Gunn Craft Lager.
