The Growing Market for US Craft Beer in Australia

The Growing Market for US Craft
Beer in Australia
By James Smith
Founder of The Crafty Pint & Festival Director, Good Beer Week
Overview
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Why am I here?
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Beer in Australia - the past, present and future
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Opportunities for US craft beer in Australia
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Q&A
Brief History of Beer in Australia
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Early beginnings
Growth to peak number of
breweries in late 19th Century
Homogenisation of the
20th Century
A new explosion
Year
Breweries
1800
1
1830
30
1860
178
1890
294
1910
157
1920
77
1950
26
1980
20
Today
c. 150
The Birth of Craft Beer
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The Sail & Anchor & Matilda Bay
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The Rise & Fall of Craft Beer
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The Second Wave - late 1990s onwards
Craft Beer in Australia Today
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Rapid growth – both local and imports – yet still small
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Improving quality and innovation
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The Third Wave
Facts & Figures
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Total Australian beer market is ~AUD$10bn per annum
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Craft beer sector makes up just 3%
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Major brands are experiencing falling sales
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Per capita beer consumption hit 65 year low in 2012
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BUT craft sector is booming
Craft Sales - Nielsen stats
Craft Beer’s 3%
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Independent craft breweries responsible for less than 1%
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Remainder brewed by Lion (Little Creatures & Malt Shovel) and
SABMiller (Matilda Bay)
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Only ~10 of the smaller, independent breweries currently operate on a
scale where they can significantly expand the sector
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Two national associations launched in 2011
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Larger one - Craft Beer IndustryAssociation - aims to “Protect,
Promote & Grow” craft beer in Australia
Retail Reality
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Like brewing, the market is dominated by two major players: Coles
& Woolworths - between 70-80% total liquor sales
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Both have growing range of Australian & International craft beer
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Both have launched their own “craft” ranges in recent months:
brewed under license and given prominence in their stores
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Growing number of small bottle stores with wide ranges and
knowledgeable staff. Market share small but punch well above their
weight in terms of craft beer sales
Imports
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Quality imports played a key role in the early awakening of
Australian palates
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Initially Belgian, German, British, etc
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US craft beer a more recent phenomenon, alongside Kiwi, Japanese,
Scandinavian, Italian
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Much early US craft beer arrived via grey / parallel importing
Getting Beer Into Australia
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Two main routes
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Direct to the major chains
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Via a beer importer & distributor
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Labelling, tax, transport costs?
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Keg versus bottle in Australia
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Case studies
Finding an audience
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Festivals
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Australian International Beer Awards
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Key craft venues - most favour kegged product
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Collaborations / partnerships
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Key media contacts
The View from Down Under
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Drinkers: growing numbers excited about craft beer. Many proud of
local scene but chasing top US, Kiwi, European too.
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Venues: quality imports encourage local industry to raise their game.
But price point of some US beers makes it tough for locals to compete
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Brewers: some opposition to rise in imports, including elements
within national associations. Part of protecting local industry
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Environmental concerns / respect for US brewers resisting
approaches from importers
The “Risk”
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“The biggest risk for Australian craft is US beer” - Ian Kingham, ALH
(Woolworths)
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Many US brewers more established, commercial, organised, financed
and with capacity to spare
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Australian craft beer market is still in its infancy - many breweries
still finding their feet
Wrap Up
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Craft sector will continue to grow - and fast
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The revolution is yet young
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Untapped potential remains for quality craft beer in Australia
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For longevity, the local industry must be strong too
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How do you want to be viewed?
Cheers!
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Any questions?
Contact details
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James Smith
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e: james@craftypint.com
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p: +61 450 369 718
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w: craftypint.com
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t: twitter.com/TheCraftyPint
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f: facebook.com/TheCraftyPint