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Today’s highlight goes to Katie Baker of Tupps Brewery!
Hello Katie, what has been the main sales drivers moving forward with on premise alcohol sales still under certain restrictions?
During Covid, we had to completely shift our business from can and keg sales to fully can sales. We had to up our can and label orders and sell more into the grocery and liquor/beer stores. Luckily, the grocery stores have been packed, so we continued to see great can sales.
What are some promotions you have in place to entice customers to drive out if there might be closer beer options?
When the shutdown happened, we offered a deal-of-the day for our taproom beer-to-go sales. These deals included offering like: buy a 6 pack of IPA and get a free koozie, discounts on merchandise and growler/crowler deals. It was a fun thing to promote and people looked forward to our deal-of-the-day every morning.
Has the brewery had any major reorganizing where employees needed to learn new roles during COVID?
Yes, our production had to up their canning time. It takes more time than you think you can the beer and now that we weren’t putting any beer into kegs, we had to spend a lot more time on the canning line. Our sales team were now focusing fully on retail stores instead of bars/restaurants. When our taproom got shut down, our Taproom Manager, Nicole, had to shift her focus on beer-to-go sales. She created an online beer-to-go store where people could order in advance, pay in advance, and have a contactless pickup. Honestly, every part of our business had to adjust to the new rules and restrictions.
A report by Beverage Dynamics, a national magazine highlighting off-premise alcohol retailers, states that consumer behavior was noticeably becoming less explorative during COVID and people were simply opting for a few brands they trusted. Do you see this as a continuing issue post-COVID as restrictions are lifted again?
I think it will be a mix of both. Everyone has their own comfort level with COVID and I think some people will continue to be extra cautious and stick with brands they trust. Most people will slowly get back into exploring new brands and beers.
Is there any key lessons that the craft brewery business or taproom model will gain from COVID?
First and foremost, it’s a reminder that anything can happen. We have to be ready to adjust our business model at any second to what is going on in the world. We learned a lot from selling beer-to-go onsite. Covid forced us to create an online store for beer-to-go pickup and we want to continue that when Covid is gone. We want people to easily snag beer-to-go from the brewery and not have to worry about parking, waiting in lines, etc. I think some businesses that have thrived during Covid were the businesses that were willing to be creative and think out of the box on how to keep the business up and running. I truly believe we were one of those businesses.
