Aside from mash tuns and fermenters, the one thing every brewery needs to succeed—from the tiniest of nano breweries to regional craft beer powerhouses—is solid branding.
With over 8,000 breweries in the US, the need for brewers to stand out has never been more vital. There are thousands of kegs being tapped every day around the country and thousands more cans being cracked open. Here at Wildpack, we believe that an innovative brand strategy helps ensure your beers are among them.
Whether you’re building a brewery from the ground up or looking to refresh and rebrand, this guide will take you through the creative process when it comes to brewery branding.
Step 1: Think Big Picture
When you first envision starting a brewery, you probably think about brewing experimental saisons and working with local artists to design your labels. But before you lease a building and start on these exciting creative ventures, you should sit down with your collaborators and draft a game plan for your brand strategy.
By starting with the big picture and working your way down to the smaller details, you can ensure your branding is cohesive.
Identifying Your Values
It may feel like a new-fangled marketing tactic, but it’s effective to start your brewery brainstorming with brand values. Your values can guide you through every decision you make as a business. Later on, they can also help steer like-minded customers toward your beer.
Start by thinking about why you want to brew beer and what you want to accomplish. What kind of feeling do you want to instill in your customers?
Here are some sample brand values to start you on the right track:
- Discovery
- Accessibility
- Community
- Originality
- Education
- Fearlessness
- Loyalty
- Mastery
Determining your company values early on makes it easier to operate and scale your business. From brewery branding to logistics decisions, your principles can inform all of your processes.
For example, if one of your core values is “sustainability,” you might choose to work with a local canning and labeling partner like Wildpack to reduce the shipping-related carbon footprint of your beer canning process.
Finding Your Brand Identity
What makes your brewery special? If your answer is “incredible beer,” that’s a start. But with enough practice, anyone can brew stellar beer. Your offerings should exceed good brews.
Crafting a brand identity takes your beer beyond the “product” level and offers your customers something to hold on to. You need to think of the story behind your suds. You’re not just selling porters and pale ales—you’re selling a narrative, a brand essence, a movement your customers can get behind. Otherwise, you’re just another can on the shelf.
Ultimately, your brand identity is your brewery’s personality. So, if it helps, think of your business as a person. Who are they? What do they look like? What are their hobbies? The resulting portrait will tell you a lot about yourself, your beer, and your brand.
When done correctly, this initial step should simplify all of the others. With a large-scale blueprint for your brewery at the ready, you’ll already have a lens through which you can make decisions around branding and marketing.
Finally, keep in mind that this “big picture work” has other uses, too. If you hope to attract outside investors, you’ll need a well-organized business plan.
Step 2: Define Your Demographic
The values and identity you discover at the start of your branding journey will help you identify who your customers are—and how you should present your beers to them.
If you’ve already opened a tasting room, look at the customers coming in. Is your clientele streaming in from nearby businesses? Are they riding their bikes to the brewpub? What’s the average age?
By taking stock and chatting to your regulars, you can start to craft your branding around slogans and imagery that will resonate with your customer base.
If your brewery is still in the planning stages (or if you’re hoping to reach a different demographic), think more about your ideal customer. You’ll never be able to please everyone, so focus instead on really pleasing a specific group of people, whether they be the recent college grad or the 50+ crowd.
Step 3: Name Your Brewery
With your brand values and market research complete, you need a name that ties it all together. A top-notch brewery name should be:
- Representative – A name is often the first impression, so your moniker should represent your brand. Finding a name that encompasses your core values is challenging and time-consuming, but it’s time well spent.
- Memorable – The best names are short, punchy, and effortlessly unique. From a more practical standpoint, an original name will be easier to find online.
- Timeless – Playing on a trendy saying may seem like a clever idea, but if it falls out of fashion, your brewery’s name will feel like a dated reference. Look for a name that will stand the test of time.
As a bonus, try to find a name that gives you plenty of ensuing creative opportunities. For example, if you went with a name like “Cosmonaut Brewing,” you could name beers after famous astronauts or space terminology, incorporate stars into your merch designs, and so on. A consistent naming scheme further cements your brand identity, too.
Step 4: Look Your Best
Once you know who you are and who your ideal customers are, the real fun begins. Developing an aesthetic is a meticulous process of trial and error, but it’s also full of discovery. You may already have a clear idea in mind for your cans and taphouse, or you might need to lean on a local artist.
Either way, notice that defining the visual aspects of your brand comes at the end of the branding process. While unbridled creativity can be a blessing, a framework is helpful, especially in a business context. Your brand identity is that framework.
Branding for Beer Labels
The old saying may be to never judge a book by its cover, but when it comes to trying new beers at the grocery store, the packaging is all a customer has to make their decision. With that in mind, labeling is an essential part of your brewery branding.
Here are some tips for crafting a standout beer label:
- Think local – Of course, the ultimate dream is to build a brewing empire that spans from sea to shining sea. But that dream begins in your hometown. With 82% of surveyed shoppers saying they want to support local businesses over national corporations, you can use community connection to your advantage. Consider naming your beers after nearby neighborhoods or incorporating local landmarks into your designs.
- Communicate your message – Colors, images, names, and slogans all work together to convey a message. Think about what each beer brings to the table, combine that spirit with your brewery’s values, and design from there. Your messaging should also use a consistent “brand voice” that evokes your brewery from the first glance.
- Opt for eye-catching imagery – If you’ve ever shopped for beer yourself, you’ve probably been drawn in by a label before you even knew what was inside. For many people, the label will be their first introduction to your beer brand. As such, it pays to cover your cans with bright dashes of color, recognizable imagery, unique graphic design art, or funky logos (assuming that aesthetic fits with your brand identity).
- Use the right materials – Once you have a mind-blowing beer label design, you’ll want to make sure it stays intact. And not all can coverings are created equal. Wildpack’s shrink sleeve labels are durable, scratch-resistant, and won’t slip off in transit or in hand. Shrink sleeving also provides a more accurate representation of your design than printing, with vivid colors and easy-to-read text.
When designing your labels, remember that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) has a strict set of guidelines around what needs to be displayed. These requirements include the brand name, your business address, the alcohol content, and more. So, while an attention-grabbing can is an asset, don’t eschew the regulations in favor of a prettier product.
Branding for a Tasting Room
If you plan to operate a brewpub or tasting room in addition to selling in stores, your branding should spill over into everything you do. From the food menu to the art on the walls, your brand identity should be present and instantly recognizable. Wherever possible, colors and typography should match with themes—right down to the restrooms.
And as with brand identity, the best tasting room isn’t just about the beer. The most successful breweries brand themselves as more than a place to drink hazy IPAs. Depending on your brand values, you might want to incorporate some of the following ideas:
- Pool tables
- Arcade games
- Live music
- A coffee bar
- Community events
- Trivia
- Ping pong
- A backyard halfpipe
Think about who your branding is geared toward, and the design for your taproom will fall into place.
Better Branding Calls for Better Packaging: Choose Wildpack
Well-executed branding doesn’t happen overnight. Branding is an exploration in intention, shape, and color, and even the biggest marketing teams can take months to nail down a message.
But once you have the final files for your logo and labels, you’ll want to display them in complete confidence. When you partner with Wildpack to label your beers for distribution, your hard work receives the treatment it deserves. Plus, we make communication a priority to help you nail down your dream can.
Whether you’re looking for shrink sleeve labels for a small batch or beverage co-packing for your first smash hit, Wildpack is here to help. Cheers to perfectly-branded beers!
Sources:
Brewers Association. National Beer Sales & Production Data. https://www.brewersassociation.org/statistics-and-data/national-beer-stats/
Small Business Trends. 82% of Shoppers Will Pay More Now to Support Small Businesses. https://smallbiztrends.com/2020/08/red-egg-marketing-local-business-survey.html
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The Beverage Alcohol Manual. https://www.ttb.gov/beer/beverage-alcohol-manual
