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Craft Brewery
industry that all breweries sell their product for make a decent income at a good spread. If you look
“too cheap,” and part of the job of a brewery is to at the National Brewers Association’s list of the top
educate consumers on what good beer costs. In 50 craft breweries in the U.S., it becomes apparent
fact, some brewers go as far as saying that if you that volume is king. Very few of these breweries
can’t afford their beer, you probably can’t afford make significant profits, but they are still thriving
craft beer. because the spread between their production costs
and retail prices is greater than most other beer
There are many factors to consider when deciding manufacturers.
on a price for your product, not the least of which
is competing in your market. Price too high and Branding
no one will buy your beer, price too low and you
may lose money or have to discount the beer very Branding is an essential aspect of running a brew-
frequently to move it off the shelf — another chal- ery that includes everything from your logo and
lenge altogether. beer labels to where you sell your beer. It also
involves how you market, advertise and promote
In addition to that, you have to take into account yourself. An excellent way to think about it is the
other factors such as overheads costs (keg size, total image or “face” of your business. Breweries
pour size). You should also understand the differ- also have to think about consistency in their brand-
ence between pricing off-premise and on-premise ing across multiple locations.
bottles and cans. At Untappd, there’s a beer pricing
guide that is worth a read for future reference. There is a lot of money and effort involved in
making sure that all your beers, logos, labels, and
Regardless of how you price your beer, it is a promotional materials are consistent from location
fact that the craft brewing industry is a volume to location. If you own more than one brewery, it
or “spread” business. Very few breweries make is almost impossible to create a consistent image
money, but those that sell beer to enough people between them.
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