Key question from CBC 2023: How can craft breweries keep crushing the odds? By Chris Crowell via craftbrewingbusiness.com Chief Economist of the Brewers Association Bart Watson delivered a somber statistical overview to kick off the 2023 Craft Brewers Conference & BrewEXPO. Beer sales are down / flat. Closings are on the rise while openings are slowing. Watson considers none of this to be anomalous, calling it firmly the “new normal.” “We can’t continue to crush the odds,” Watson said. But that’s probably a good thing. The craft beer industry’s new normal follows a decade of what Watson called “abnormal,” when compared to historic small business success rates. For example, about 76 percent of breweries that opened in 2015 are still open today, vs. the 40 percent chance of any other small business surviving over that same period. Luckily, there is wiggle room between odds-crushing and sky-is-falling. How do you find your path there? Reflecting on these notes and key quotes from last week’s Craft Beer When reading the hop leaves of the market – beer is down, seltzer is down, but the flavored malt beverage category as a whole is way up – one can surmise that breweries should continue to innovate and explore new categories and flavor combinations as they did in beer. And as Watson notes, those customers “overlap with craft more than we realize.” That’s certainly one direction. But then again, chasing trends isn’t necessarily a great plan either. “No one was chasing style trends back in the day,” Watson notes. Which is true to an extent — but then again – how far back in the day are we talking? Not all of these odds-crushing 9,000+ breweries opened with a unique style and vision. Some opened and found success for a bit because craft beer became trendy, right? But if craft beer is less trendy in this new normal, which type of brewery is in a better spot? One that quickly jumps on new trends? Or a brand that always follows the boil of its own tanks? I think this was the best way to answer that, per Watson: “Focus less on what’s growing, and more on what you can grow.” Continued on page 19 Conference is a good start … Focus on what you can grow
IMDPA ANNUAL CONFERENCE P review
Tuesday, Sept 26
IMDPA Memorial Scholarship Golf Outing and Banquet
Wednesday, Sept 27
- Annual Membership Meeting - Keynote Presentation by Gus Reall of Stolle Machinery and John Wilhelm of Monster - Sustainability in Packaging, Colleen Webster Sustainability Director, Henry Crown & Co / CC Industries - Awards Luncheon - Breakout sessions including presentations from Boettcher Systems, Pantone, CMA Imaging, American Canning, Koening & Bauer, EFI Inkjet, Farratt Isolevel, Sheridan Management Group and more… - Tabletop Exhibits and Sponsor Hosted Hospitality
Thursday Sept 28
- Keynote Presentation - Steel Supply Round Table - Presentations from RadTech and more… - Luncheon and Raffle Prizes
Registration Now Open, metaldecorators.org/events
FUNDAMETALS Newsletter
[14] Q2 2023
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