UK Beer Expert On 3 Successful Brewery Models

, UK Beer Expert On 3 Successful Brewery Models

It’s not like a decade ago, when just about every brewery became an instant success. Today brewery owners need to be strategic if they want to prosper.

Here’s the deal….

One of our favorite UK drinks business sites, the Drinks Business, recently sat down with Lune Brew sales and marketing director Justin Rivett, to get his thoughts on what brewers should do to stay afloat. And he focused on three brewery models he felt were better positioned for success in today’s increasingly volatile craft beer landscape.

And we’ve republished a slightly edited version of Rivett’s brewery models below…

Model 1: Stay Niche and Crafty

“If you have a bit of cash spare, can brew a bit (a lot, or at least have a certain level of knowledge of your intended style) and have some time on your hands, it might be your intention to start a commercial brewery and keep it small.

Rivet told DB how Mills Brewing “sells out of each iteration in hours, and has no desire to get any larger, in fact it withdrew from its wholesale business during the pandemic to focus on its direct-customer base.

Emperor’s Brewery brews higher ABV stouts and porters, and has a packed collaborative calendar as well as its own small brewery. These are examples of small brewers who are happy to stay small, satisfy their own ambitions and focus very narrowly. There is quite a lot to be said for it as a lifestyle business”.

, UK Beer Expert On 3 Successful Brewery Models

Lune Brew sales and marketing director Justin Rivett: Linkendin

Model 2: Open Branded Outlets

“The second model is to have a single or multiple branded outlets.  BrewDog are the obvious and most visible version of this model, but getting that big takes a completely different level of effort than a lot of breweries are capable of.”

“Howling Hops has its ‘Tank Bar’ in trendy Hackney Wick, the volumes are good (especially on a match day, as the London Stadium is nearby). But it does require you to be in an urban area, and that means big rents for property, and additional capital investment in the tanks themselves.

Model 3: Market a Popular Core, then Sell Up

Rivett concluded with “the model that served CamdenBeavertown and the other big sell-out breweries in the last decade. Brew a popular core beer, churn it out with some fantastic sales support to every venue that will have you and with some brilliant branding and quite a lot of capital or debt.

This model is based on having at least one beer that is a massive hit with the market, Camden had Helles, Beavertown had Neck Oil and Gamma Ray.”

Finally Rivett stressed that brewery owners need to “have in mind how big you want to be” and know “what your skills set is” as well as be fully aware of “what capital you have available.”

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