Sales Management

The largest craft brewer and sixth largest brewer in the United States is The Boston Beer Company Inc. (BBC), also known as Samuel Adams (SAM). BBC was listed by Forbes magazine as the 26th "best small companies" in the nation in 2012. The company produced a total of 64 distinct beers in 2013 and sold an average of 3.4 million barrels of beer (Boston Beer Company, 2013, p.1). The company sells a wide range of goods under its trademark, and during the past five years, it has maintained its position as the third-largest craft beer brand, behind imports Corona and Heineken (Griffith, n.d.). The company mainly does its business in the United States, and its headquarters are located in Boston Massachusetts. As of 2013, BBC had a total amount of 1,120 employees within their organization. The growth of the company is majorly due to their financial prosperity within the market. The organization recorded revenues of $739.1 million in 2013 which accounted for a total 27.4% increase in comparison to 2012 (MarketLine, 2014).

Mission statement and goals

Since its formation, BBC has focused on setting high standards for quality in the production of hand-crafted beer; such high-quality is based upon the use of the world’s finest ingredients and unique brewing techniques. Each batch of Samuel Adams is brewed with handcrafted care and hand-selected ingredients. The company places a high focus on ensuring the freshness of each batch. Craft beers are brewed with a hundred percent malted barley as its grain in comparison to the other main American beer companies that utilize a mixture of malted barley together with other cereals such as rice which are relatively cheap and have less bodied sweetness (Boston Beer Company, 2013, p.3).

The corporate’s mission is to become the top brewer in the Better Beer and Cider categories by brewing excellent beers and ciders, improving brand awareness through advertising, point-of-sale, drinker education, and promotional programs (Boston Beer Company, 2013, p.1). As to his personal goals, Koch wants to change the manner in which Americans think about beer. More ambitiously, Koch wants the US to be recognized as the place where the most excellent beers are brewed (Ren, 2011).

History and Foundation

BBC was established by Jim Koch with the goal of introducing high-quality, flavored beer into the American beer market. According to Koch, the American beer scene was a “wasteland” in the 1980’s; drinkers only had two options during this time: mass-produced American beers with little or no rich flavor and imported beers, which were frequently stale due to travel time (Baer, 2014). As a result, Koch saw the opportunity of coming up with a new product that would gratify the unmet needs of consumers who were seeking a more sophisticated taste of beer. In 1984, Koch brewed his first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager with traditional brewing methods that include decoction mash, dry hopping, and krausening. Jim chose the brand name after Boston patriot, Samuel Adams, who fought for the American Liberation. An interesting fact about Samuel Adams is that he was also passionate about brewing and this passion and tradition were inherited from his father (Boston Beer Company, 2013, p.1).

In April 1985, on Patriot’s day, Samuel Adams made its debut in Boston. The enterprise had brewed and sold over five hundred barrels by the end of the year and expanded its market area across Massachusetts, Connecticut, and West Germany. The prosperity of his company promoted the brand; it got recognitions that resulted in being selected as the “best beer in America, exactly six months after its introduction.” During the first ten years of operation, BBC experienced remarkable improvement by 40 to 60 percent increase every year. In 1995, BBC decided to go public by trading shares of Class A Common stock on the New York Exchange under (SAM) (Boston Beer Company, 2013, p.1).

BBC began operations in an old distillery situated in Pennsylvania while restorations were taking place in another factory in Boston. As of today, BBC boasts four major breweries located in Pennsylvania, California, Cincinnati, and Boston. Their largest brewery is based in Pennsylvania. However, the company’s lower volume products were manufactured in one of its primary locations in Cincinnati and the one in Cincinnati. The corporate makes most of its core brands at company-owned breweries which enable them to exercise greater control and flexibility over its business operations. Additionally, such control allows them to make immediate product changes according to consumer preferences and fluctuations in market demand (MarketLine, 2014). BBC has for a long time insisted on the quality of their products and consistent inventions and innovation to suit their market. As a consequence, the company established a Vermont-based branch in 2011 named Alchemy and Science; its mandate was to come up with innovative and exclusive products for BBC. Furthermore, this new department emphasizes on the research and improvement of new brewing methods to be implemented in new demographic areas (Saeks & Hubert, 2013).

Products

BBC offers a wide range of goods with a diverse variety of flavors from its extensive collection of seasonal beers, brew master’s collection beers, and limited edition beers. BBC also has introduced two relatively new commodities into their brand known as Twisted Tea, and Angry Orchard Cider (Griffith, n.d.).

Samuel Adams



The Samuel Adams product line is the main source of income and core product for BBC due to the sales success of Samuel Adams Seasonal beers and Samuel Adams Boston Lager. BBC sold over 50 beers under the Samuel Adams or Sam Adams brand names together with over 20 beers under four of its Alchemy & Science subsidiary’s brand names (Boston Beer Company, 2013, p.1).

Twisted Tea



This product was launched in 2001 and is sold in the flavored malt beverage market, and it competes with other brands such as Smirnoff Ice, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, and Bud Light Lime. Currently, the flavored malt beverage category makes up 20 percent of the United States beer consumption. During the 2013 year, BBC sold 10 different flavored malt beverages under the Twisted Tea brand name (Boston Beer Company, 2013, p.1).

Angry Orchard

This product line was also launched in 2011 and contests with other ciders and various spirit brands in the market. BBC sells five different ciders and has experienced substantial growth within the United States market totaling to sixty-five percent increase within the industry in comparison to 2012. BBC focuses on high-quality and rich flavor not only on his beer brewing but also on all other products bearing the company’s name. Under this product line, Angry Orchard offers different variations of taste, and the ingredients are imported directly from Europe. According to Koch, domestic apples do not provide the same taste and quality as imported apples (Saeks & Hubert, 2013). During the 2013 year, BBC sold eight different hard cider beverages under the Angry Orchard brand name; during this year, the brand became the largest selling cider in the United States (Boston Beer Company, 2013, p.1).

Target market

The rich flavor and high-quality provided in BBC products only apply to particular markets; the identification of such is crucial to the company’s success in implementing appropriate marketing and sales strategy. Due to their different line of products, BBC targets different markets depending on their select product. In regards to their Twisted Tea product line, BBC mainly targets male individuals, or blue-collared workers, mostly pertaining to the white race with relatively low incomes. Additionally, their Angry Orchard product line does not explicitly aim to target a specific demographic but recent advertisement projects such as “Once Upon a Time” focuses on women ranging from the ages of twenty-one to thirty who desire to experience a unique, flavorful drink (Saeks & Hubert, 2013).

Murray & O’Neill (2012) provide an interesting breakdown of the typical, craft beer consumer utilizing characteristics and factors such as age, gender, education level, personal preferences, and social preferences. Such illustration can provide an overview of the usual, American craft beer drinker and their background.

Source: British Food Journal 2013

Nonetheless, we must focus on more concrete details and information provided by other researchers and factors that influence the consumption of craft beer in the United States. The following will provide a detailed overview of different target markets, age, gender, income, and ethnicity, in regards to craft drinkers in the United States (Foster and Gupta, 1994).

Age and gender

Graph A1, found in Appendix A, provides details of what particular age and gender groups are influenced the most by the craft beer market in the United States. As of 2012, it is most evident that craft beer is most appealing to male individuals ranging from the ages of thirty-five to fifty-four, and women ranging from the ages of twenty-one to thirty-four. In marketing terms, craft beer consumption is more appealing to individuals from Generation Y and Generation X. Nonetheless, it is noticeable that male individuals from Generation Y are more hesitant to consumer craft beer since they relate such products to an “older” or “fatherly” crowd. Additionally, female individuals from Generation Y tend to drink craft beers since they are perceived as more “flavorful” and “healthier” (Mullahy and Sindelar, 1991)

Income

According to various researchers, the consumption of beer highly correlates with household income. Based on a recent survey by Mintel, a data analysis and marketing strategy company, stated that craft beer consumption is most prevalent in homes with an annual income of $50K-$74.9K and $100K- $149.9K; a visual graph can be found in Appendix A under graph A2. Nonetheless, it has been noted that craft beer consumption has become more popular throughout the years within low-income households although the use may not be as frequent.

Ethnicity

As shown in the graph A3, found in Appendix A, craft beer consumption is most popular with the white population, followed by the Hispanic community, in the United States. This statistic is also correlated to income statistics reporting higher levels of income within the white community in the United States.



References

Foster, G., & Gupta, M. (1994). Marketing, cost management and management accounting. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 6, 43.

Kotler, P., & Cox, K. K. (1980). Marketing management and strategy. Prentice Hall.

Mullahy, J., & Sindelar, J. L. (1991). Gender differences in labor market effects of alcoholism. The American Economic Review, 81(2), 161-165.