The craft beer industry continues its upward trajectory, with sales expected to increase 22% in 2015 alone, according to just-released research from Mintel. This follows significant growth from 2009 to 2014, when the craft sector’s share of total beer volume rose 83% (to 8.5%). Beer sales overall declined 2% over the same period.
The explosion in sales—along with the craft beer industry’s reliance on continual introductions of limited-edition, seasonal, local, and often novelty lagers and ales—has made it attractive to licensors. As a result, the frequency of licensing deals in this category has accelerated.
Properties involved are diverse and sometimes unexpected. They tend to fall into a number of segments:
- Entertainment properties, especially those with beer or beer-like beverages prominent in their storylines. Examples include Star Trek’s Warnog Ale with Tin Man Brewing and a line of seasonal Game of Thrones brews from Brewery Ommegang.
- Music properties, which tend to have a natural connection with beer since fans often drink during concerts. Dogfish Head has created beers inspired by The Grateful Dead, Pearl Jam, Miles Davis, and Robert Johnson.
- Events, or properties associated with events. Lululemon Athletica’s Curiosity Lager with Stanley Park Brewery in Canada was tied to the company’s annual SeaWheeze Half Marathon and Sunset Festival in Vancouver.
- Corporate properties whose history includes elements that fit with beer-making or beer-appropriate flavors. The Wheaties brew from Fulton Brewery and the Carhartt Woodsman from New Holland illustrate this path.
- Properties with anniversaries that are cause for celebration. The Mallard steam locomotive, displayed in the U.K.’s National Railway Museum, was paired with Wold Top Brewery to mark its 75th anniversary.
Licensed craft beers are often essentially promotional, but they almost always are sold at retail (sometimes after debuting at an event). They usually take the form of limited editions and are typically available only within a defined geographic area.
Even though their distribution is narrow, however, they tend to be quality beers with recipes developed specifically for the partnership. Tin Man’s Klingon Warnog Ale, available in Indiana and Washington, is a unique Rogen Dunkelweiss (Danish rye beer), for instance, while the Wheaties example, available in Minnesota, is a specially created Hefeweisen (unfiltered German wheat beer).
In some cases, fans are able to weigh in on the specifics of the new brew. For each new Game of Thrones selection, Brewery Ommegang determines the name and style of beer through a Facebook poll. And Dogfish Head and The Grateful Dead asked fans for online submissions for a final ingredient to be added to their custom-brewed strong pale ale.
Mintel expects the craft beer category to see slower growth from now through 2020. One of the factors, according to the researcher, is that consumers are turning to an expanding range of alcohol options. As a result, licensing is becoming a more prominent factor there, too, with limited-edition licensed rums, vodkas, and tequilas almost commonplace.
The other reason Mintel points to for the decelerating growth rate is that larger brewers are launching craft-style beers, taking share from true craft brewers, as well as acquiring existing craft breweries, meaning those brands would no longer be categorized as craft.
Some of these bigger companies are also looking to licensing for limited-edition products. Anheuser-Busch InBev is one example. Its Bud Light paired with the Mad Decent Block Party music festival for limited-edition, artist-created cans—in 31 million possible combinations—sold in the 18 cities where the festival occurred. And its Budweiser brand offered limited-edition Metallica cans at retail in Canada to commemorate the band’s opening of a new music venue in Québec, the Centre Vidéotron.
Note that both corporate examples involve custom cans, rather than the custom beers that are the norm for tie-ins emanating from the craft breweries.
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