I have developed an innovative beer recipe and spent considerable time formulating a strategy to brand it and sell it. I am having trouble with two major decisions (I'll post the second one separately as the two may fall in separate categroies):
Should I use a contract brewer to brew my product? I would like to brew the beer in-house, but I currently do not have a "house" and would have difficulty in obtaining the capital to build one. Other considerations are time - I would like to bring my product to the market as soon as possible to take advantage of certain trends and credibility - I have been brewing at home for over 10 years but lack the expertise that would make a potential distributor feel confident in my ability to deliver (these are all the typical considerations in these discussions I suppose).
My beer will be targeted towards educated customers, and its success will rely on word-of-mouth marketing. In light of this, I think that my customers might hold it against me if I outsource the production, as it may not be consistent with the message I hope to convey. I know that the quality of the beer would probably be better with a competent contract brewer, but I feel perception is very important in my case. It may be important to note that I am not interested in establishing a brewpub.
I am currently leaning towards using a contract brewer until I have built up sales and distribution to a point where I can justify the investment in a brewery (and investors are more comfortable lending money). Consumers may not really differentiate this from contract brewing indefinitely, however. If anyone is aware of alternatives or has any experience with taking a beer from contract brewing to in house brewing or even with contract brewing in general, I would greatly appreciate your input.
Should I use a contract brewer to brew my product? I would like to brew the beer in-house, but I currently do not have a "house" and would have difficulty in obtaining the capital to build one. Other considerations are time - I would like to bring my product to the market as soon as possible to take advantage of certain trends and credibility - I have been brewing at home for over 10 years but lack the expertise that would make a potential distributor feel confident in my ability to deliver (these are all the typical considerations in these discussions I suppose).
My beer will be targeted towards educated customers, and its success will rely on word-of-mouth marketing. In light of this, I think that my customers might hold it against me if I outsource the production, as it may not be consistent with the message I hope to convey. I know that the quality of the beer would probably be better with a competent contract brewer, but I feel perception is very important in my case. It may be important to note that I am not interested in establishing a brewpub.
I am currently leaning towards using a contract brewer until I have built up sales and distribution to a point where I can justify the investment in a brewery (and investors are more comfortable lending money). Consumers may not really differentiate this from contract brewing indefinitely, however. If anyone is aware of alternatives or has any experience with taking a beer from contract brewing to in house brewing or even with contract brewing in general, I would greatly appreciate your input.
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