Anywho, that does present a problem when my blog is about an alcoholic beverage. That is, until this article appeared on the NZ Herald website.
It all seems very inconspicuous really - Julian Davidson, the chief executive of Independent Liquor, says the company is doing well and has experienced growth since they started kegging more beers. But let us all be honest - he had to say that, didn't he? C'mon, it's not like he's going to write off the company he works for.
Davidson said Independent was on the lookout for independent craft beer brands that it could acquire.
" ... there's probably half a dozen really interesting craft beer players out there that we'd be interested in having a conversation with."
I find this statement really odd. Independent already own the Boundary Road Brewery, which the head company pitches as having "innovative style", "providing more value, choice and flexibility" and "most importantly...has brought some real innovation and dynamism into the beer market".
Real innovation and dynamism? The BRB range has about as much innovation as a primary school science fair. So far they have released a pale ale, a faux-radler, an alcoholic ginger beer, a pilsener, a lager, a chocolate porter, another pale ale, an amber ale, another lager, and another pale ale. Hardly ground-breaking stuff.
In fact, the most innovative part of the whole range is that they managed to make their chocolate porter taste like a RTD. That shouldn't surprise too much though, as Independent Liquor are the same company which makes sugary, boozy RTDs like Woodstock, Cody's and Pulse - the equivilant of a Jagerbomb in a can. I managed to get a Chocolate Moose for free, and I'm glad I didn't buy it. It tasted of sickly-sweet chocolate and sugar. It's like sugar and Milo - I'm all for heaps of Milo and a bit of sugar to sweeten things up a bit more, but it shouldn't taste like there's more sugar than Milo. It defeats the purpose really.
So while Mr Davidson managed to dodge calling Boundary Road a "non-craft brewery", it is still interesting that the company wants to buy out some of the smaller guys. After the initial "say whaaaaaaaaat?!?!", it's almost a bit fun to think of who would be approached and who might actually sell up to the Asahi-owned company.
So, firstly, who would Independent approach? Basic business logic says they will either be on the hunt for a deal or a big growing company. If they're looking for a bit of a deal, they can't really go past West Coast Brewery. Recently put into liquidation, owner Paddy Sweeney has said he wants to buy it back - if he can. I don't know much about the situation, but I'm not holding out hope of that.
And it seems like a good buy - Dave Kurth makes bloody nice beer, and they were starting to make some good inroads into the lucrative Wellington market if the number of tap badges around the bars was anything to go by.
Recent buzz + a good brewer + a liquidator whose sole responsibility is to pay back the debts = a pretty prime piece of business real estate.
Apart from West Coast, I can't think of any other breweries in the same position - not yet anyway - so the next best punt is a fast-growing company. According to business growth index Deloitte Fast 50, Tuatara grew by a massive 216.24 per cent from 2010 to 2011. That's like me growing a shade less than a foot a month for a year. If growth continues along the same track for a couple years, the company should be in a good place. Again, a very good business if you're looking at it from the outside and possibly someone Independent would be "interested in having a conversation with".
There are plenty of breweries who I reckon - and hope - wouldn't give Independent even the slightest impression they were interested in selling. And I hope all the Kiwi craft breweries think along the same lines, and collectively raise a collective middle finger to the three big guys in the New Zealand brewing landscape.
Why? Well, because they are all just far too cool to sell out to an overseas-owned company. They are actually being innovative and dynamic. And, most importantly, they are actually make good beer.
Postscript: It's stupidly good timing that I managed to write about this the day Lion - which is owned by Asian-based Kirin - announced it wants to buy out the rest of Little Creatures. Lion have had a big stake for a while and Little Creatures seem to still be pumping out great products (their Bright Ale was amazeballs on tap at The Malthouse), so I - along with plenty of other beer drinkers - hope things continue along this merry road.
I reckon they'd be interested in brand, rather than a physical brewery. Something already being bottled with national distribution.
ReplyDeleteI'd think that an extra "super premium" craft beer brand or two, would supplement their market share nicely. Sitting in above the boundary road beers, which are in that "entry level" spot.
I'd say the three brands most intersting for them are:
Emerson's
Tuatara
Epic
All three are known well all through NZ and are producing classic styles rather than leftfield beers. Epic has the bonus of no capital, which would really appeal to them (having their own brewery already).
Less likely, for various reasons from philosophy to being a little too leftfield, but still quite likely to be on their radar...
Three Boys
Renaissance
8 Wired
A real outsider... Moa (probably still too early for them to think of selling but that is obviously on the agenda for their current owners, who aren't exactl beer lovers).
If they're after a name rather than a physical brewery, that says to me they would rather snatch a contract brewery.
DeleteWhat aren't you telling us Stu?!?!?!
In all seriousness, that's probably a good six picks. I just wonder if that would lead DB and Lion to start having "conversations" with the smaller guys as well?
And I think plenty of people can see Moa selling up. They're probably the only company I can think of who would probably have it in their business plan.
I’d be surprised if any of those first six sell up in the current climate. I guess one of the less successful contractors might be prepared to talk, but that would be a pretty pointless acquisition. Moa on the other hand...
ReplyDeleteI’m intrigued to try the Terrapin collaboration they have going.
On a side note, I hate how they (and the other big players) keep calling them “craft beer brands”. Makes it sound like the label on the bottle is more important than the beer inside it. I guess it is that way to Independent.
For sure, they all look like they're doing very well at the moment. Saying that, "mainstream" beer is losing market share while craft is getting a bigger slice of the pie. It wouldn't surprise me to see the big three start throwing money around to try get another revenue stream going, especially when that revenue stream happens to be growing.
DeleteI think this whole "craft label" issue is a bit silly. It's a word which doesn't really mean anything. Every brewery makes beer, some just make better beer than others. Calling it a craft brewery, a lesbian brewery, a musical brewery or whatever-label-you-like brewery won't make the beer better or worse. As you said, it's what's inside the bottle that counts.
Playing the devil's advocate here, but what's the harm in one of the big three buying out one of these "craft breweries"? If their reason for purchasing is based on aquiring a well-established player in an established market, surely they wouldn't tamper or interfere with the recipes, styles, branding etc for fear of distancing that brewery's customer base.
ReplyDeleteIf anything, the positive is that this brewery now has the financial backing of one of the richest players in the market, guranteeing it's survival to continue to make good beer. That sounds good to me.
Oh for sure, that's the "glass half full" way of looking at it. And I'm sure everyone hopes things go that way. I'm always worried that accountants will start dictating how a brewery should be run, rather than the brewer. There's far less chance of that happening when the company is a small one/two-man operation - at least, I think so.
ReplyDelete