For a few years now there has been a battle brewing between major beer brands and small craft beer makers. The two sides of this battle have differing characteristics. Big Beer can be known for its corporate recklessness and not always being loyal to customers. Whereas, small-time craft beer companies are smaller and more loyal to its customers.
A quick stroll through a major beer brand’s headquarters would suggest these companies are very good at making money and investing in infrastructure. They have marketing teams and ad teams and creative teams and accounting teams that create the branding and advertising that they spend millions of dollars on annually to suggest to customers that they’re the beer company to buy from. Stroll the office of craft beer company and things are bit different. These offices may still be focused on some agile training bay area, learning their customers, seeking out investors or other financing options and perhaps creating a different type of craft beer than what is currently available.
Some may wonder what the battle is exactly between large and small makers of beer. The battle itself is rather confusing. But the battle rests within how these companies operate differently and treat customers differently. In the business of beer, there is a major difference and battle between big beer makers and small beer makers. This difference can account for millions and perhaps even billions of dollars of beer buyers choosing between big and small beer companies to purchase from.
The huge scale does matter in this battle of gaining beer customers. The bigger the brand means the brand tends to have more money to spend on advertising to get to customers. Sometimes customers choose a major beer company due to its popularity or brand recognition. Craft beer makers do not have the funds typically to compete. But what does attract their customers is their unique quality and dedication to customer service.
The battle of beer is fierce. It is rather hard for small craft breweries to become major beer companies. The market is dominated by a few key players. It would take millions of dollars and several years triumph a major beer company. A lot of time craft breweries feel defeated by big-time beer companies. Big beer brands are not unaware of their enormous size and ability to dominate the market. They use their size to overwhelmingly out-advertise smaller brands. Is this fair? Maybe not but its business. Like any other business industry, the big guys always have an advantage over smaller companies.
Small breweries still have a chance in this battle. Business wise they must be different. They must have a winning product that customers will fall in love with. In addition, these customers will fund the advertising initiatives that will support craft breweries in their expansion. Many venture capitalists are willing to support these smaller beer companies. The battle between these two types of beer companies may never truly end but both truly benefit from the multi-billion dollar beer industry.