Brasseux d’la Cote produces:
Homemade Beer: Crafted with precision and passion, their homemade beers represent the essence of microbrewery artisanship.
Canned Alcoholic Beverages: Convenience meets quality with Brasseux d’la Cote’s canned alcoholic beverages, perfect for on-the-go enjoyment.
Flavored Beers: Innovating beyond traditional styles, the microbrewery introduces a spectrum of flavored beers, appealing to a broad range of palates.
Kegs: Catering to events and gatherings, Brasseux d’la Cote provides kegs for a communal and celebratory beer experience.
Growlers: Offering a more personalized and sustainable option, patrons can enjoy their favorite Brasseux d’la Cote brews with the eco-friendly growler packaging.
The Objective
To carry out a business assessment of all functional departments to first, determine a baseline, then next identify gaps and finally determine a RoadMap to improve in the company. The gap analysis and priority setting was based on three pillars: cost savings, efficiencies and revenue generation.
The Challenge
Craft brewing is a super competitive industry. In Atlantic Canada alone there are some 140+ microbreweries. Shelf space is at a premium in NSLC and other locations, and this means the product has to move off the shelves. It is often said it is easy to start a brewery, but much harder to sustain or grow a brewery. Therefore, the stiff competition necessitates continuous innovation and the ability to create distinctive flavors that captivate consumers. Establishing a strong distribution network and marketing strategy to expand their reach beyond the local market poses a challenge, demanding astute business development skills. Customers like experimenting with craft beer flavours and types and this creates an added challenge of 1. Brand awareness, and 2. Standing out among the many shelf choices.
The main challenges, in summary are:
- Brand awareness
- Competition
- Consumer lack of loyalty
- Marketing
- Cost of production
The Solution
Start with the Low Hanging Fruit: Market Analysis and Taproom Expansion
The initial step emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive market analysis, particularly focusing on identifying untapped areas for new taproom locations. Strategically opening new taprooms, especially with investor backing, can significantly boost sales by gaining a foothold in niche markets.
Focus on What it is to be Acadian: Reworking the Brand
A brand overhaul for Brasseux d’la Cote can isolate the product so it stands out among the competitors. This involves describing the unique Acadia experience associated with the product and emphasizing its award-winning nature. The importance of this step is underscored for retail, wholesale, and e-commerce channels. The plan recommends collecting and promoting product ratings to reinforce product quality, encouraging more customers to explore the offerings.
Getting into Acadian Markets: Export Strategy to Key Markets
Finding the markets with an Acadian affinity for their “own products” is essential to breaking through the competition. Northern France, and Newfoundland and Labrador in particular represent two immediate opportunities.
Results: Bringing Return on Investment
The implementation of these strategies yielded significant results for Brasseux d’la Cote. These included:
- Export Plan to Northern France
- Entry into Newfoundland and Labrador with shelf space
- Reworking the brand to showcase the award winning Acadian flare
