New Belgium Brewery: Business Analysis

GBBC’s competitive advantage was product differentiation of both its restaurant and beer. The beer had a good brand image because it was fresh and high quality compared to the alternatives available in the market. The restaurant served only home brewed beer that gave it a premium perception. The restaurant was German style, moderately priced dinning and high quality and served trendy cuisines. GBBC chose the restaurant location strategically and modified the restaurant, while keeping the basic idea intact, to meet the preferences of local customers.

In 1844, the Empire Brewery was founded by Jacob Best and his sons in Milwaukee, WI. In 1860, Jacob’s son Phillip took over and renamed the brewery the Phillip Best Company. Phillip’s daughter, Maria married a steamship captain, Frederick Pabst. Captain Pabst sold his shipping interest and bought a partnership stake in the brewery. In 1872, Captain Pabst became President of the company. In 1889, he renamed the business the Pabst Brewing Company.

New Belgium Brewing Company’s (NBB) mission statement is “to operate a profitable brewery which is socially, ethically and environmentally responsible, that produces high quality beer true to Belgian brewing styles.” Does New Belgium’s mission statement make an ethical stance for the business? Does it even have any bearing on the products and their beliefs? It seems to when it comes to operating a profitable business and the “green” way they are doing so and the benefits given to its employees.

Several attempts have been made by Boston Beer Company to continue on a growth streak but not all attempts have been successful. The main goals for Boston Beer Company are to increase revenue and continue growing in the industry. Boston Beer Company has had trouble growing as barriers of entry are low and competition is high. Even though the market has seen a slight upturn, however Boston Beer’s founder Jim Koch elaborates on the company’s dissatisfaction, “We are disappointed with our depletion trends in 2016, which have remained weak so far in 2017. These trends are affected by the general softening of the craft-beer category and cider category and a more challenging retail environment with a lot of new options for our drinkers”. (https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/02/22/boston-beer-finds-growth-the-hard-way.aspx)

New Belgium brewery has increasingly grew throughout the years since their development in 1991. Despite the dominance of the “Big Three” (Budweiser, Miller, and Coors), NBB needs to be aggressive and strive to invest in the attractive beer industry in able to grow more. If positioned correctly, NBB and its main brand, Fat Tire, can continually grow. An evaluation of the industry, the business itself, its brands, and the customers and competitors is needed in order to be continuously successful.

Belgium is home of the finest ales and have been known to brew for centuries. So when Jeff Lebesch, an electrical engineer from Fort Collins, Colorado took a bicycle trip through Belgium it made him realize there may be a market back home to sell Belgian-style ale. Jeff returned home with hopes to experiment and brew his own beer in his basement from the various ingredients he received on his trip. When his friends approved of the ales he started marketing them to the local town. He later opened New Belgium Brewing Company in 1991. His wife, Kim Jordan was the company’s marketing director. They named their first brew “Fat Tire Amber Ale” after Jeff’s

Boston Beer’s strategy is primarily focused on growth through differentiation. The sources of its competitive advantage can be classified as a company that provides high quality beer with unique flavors, a market driven approach, and a very efficient contract brewing strategy.

     In this paper I will be talking about the U.S. beer industry and in short an overview of the brewing industry worldwide. I will talk about the barriers to entry, economies of scale, government intervention, pricing, current market trends, product differentiation, and imports. The focus being mainly on the U.S. brewing industry oligopoly. The U.S. brewing industry has three major players: Anheuser-Busch, SAB Miller, and Coors/Molson. Anheuser-Busch is currently the largest brewer in the world, producing over 100 million barrels a year. Anheuser-Busch currently owns over 50% of the market in the United States, with Miller trailing behind at 20% and Coors at about 11% with the rest of the market occupied by imports and craft breweries. When analyzing any industry, how easy it is for newcomers to enter the market is a great importance. If there are high barriers to entry

Stella Artois, informally called Stella, is a pilsner beer between 4.8 and 5.2% ABV. It is a beer brand from Belgium and it also brewed in other locations. Stella Artois is one of the prominent brands of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer. Stella Artois has its own Pouring Ritual and iconic serving chalice and it is savoured in 95 countries as a complement to elegant events and fine dining (ABInBev, 2014). The first point will be discussed is Stella Artois’ s market entry strategy. As same as other international companies, Stella Artois also uses acquisition strategy to expand its market. As InBev attempted to maximise its product portfolio by launching its leading brands into new markets, Stella Artois was launched as a premium product in Latin America (Passport, 2005). China is the key focus of Stella Artois’s efforts to generate growth. The 2014 acquisition helped the company make the fastest growing top 10 player in the market (ABInBev, 2015). The acquisition also served to strengthen its position in economy larger and enhanced the company’s production and distribution infrastructure in the market. The second point being analyzed is Stella Artois’s marketing strategy. First of all, the packaging strategy of Stella Artois will be analysed. The packaging of Stella Artois has evolved over time. However, the mandate on the design has not change. All packaging must be supreme quality and worth (Stella Artois, 2004). Stella Artois packaging always exclusive

The right international strategy for Grolsch going forward is a transnational strategy, though there are strong elements pushing this toward a global strategy. In reviewing strategy within the beer industry, either generally or through frameworks (see exhibits), it appears the optimal path currently involves both multi-domestic elements and global

Despite the dominance of Carlsberg, in its annual report BGD could lay claim to being the largest Scandinavian beer exporter. This was because Carlsberg placed emphasis on licensing agreements or local production for its foreign markets, while BGD’s strategy was export led: ‘Eighty-three out of every hundred bottles of beer that we produce are sold in foreign markets.’ By 1995 the percentage of export sales by region of the world was as follows: western Europe 63 per cent, the Americas 10 per cent, eastern Europe 22 per cent, others 5 per cent. The development of BGD’s operations in some of these markets is now reviewed.

|What do you see as the key success factors for firms in the global beer industry? |

New Belgium Brewing Co. (NBB) is a craft beer leader that embraces sustainability and corporate responsibility. For New Belgium, social, ethical, and environmental responsibilities are as important to the company’s operations as profitability. For New Belgium, business is as much about improving the local community as it is about making beer.

Through their brand recognition, New Belgium Brewery has won the beer battle between most of their competitors. Beer connoisseurs know New Belgium Brewery by their infamous New Belgium Fat Tire. Fat Tire has helped New Belgium gain a competitive advantage because of the beers high demand. Also, New Belgium’s social responsibility is a major part of why they obtain the competitive advantage over their competitors. New Belgium is a simple company that portrays an economical friendly production, a strong family back- round, and consumer-based market strategy. New Belgium focuses on three responsibilities, social responsibility, employee responsibility, and environmental responsibility. Also, because of their focuses, they have become one of the top competitors to other craft beer

Table of ContentExecutive summary3Corporate Background4Which industry or industries is the firm operating in?4Who are the customers?4Where does the company serve?5What needs are being satisfied by the company´s goods or services?5What are the company's distinctive competencies?6Which generic strategy in currently used by the company?7Country analysis and attractiveness assessment7Brazil PEST analysis7India PEST analysis12South Korea PEST analysis15Industry and Competitive Analysis-18Porter's Five Forces Analysis of Beer Industry in Thailand (as Consolidated Industry)18Beer industry in Brazil19Beer industry in India19Beer industry in South Korea20Company Situation22Problem/Key Issue22References24Executive summaryBoon Rawd Brewery is an