Over the past six weeks, amid the chaos, the gloom and doom, and the uncertainty of what comes next, something remarkable has happened.
Yes, folks are out there laying out big scary numbers on brewery closures, crushing loss of revenue, and predictions about the coming recession, depression, whatever we end up calling this thing.
But among our inner circle of craft partners a different conversation is happening.
One that’s come on the back of some of the most rapid, creative, and inspiring pivoting we’ve seen in a lifetime – the overnight conversion of the brewery’s taproom business into what we’re calling The Package Store.
The Rise of The Package Store: A new discussion
Juxtaposed against the challenges now present in the taproom, this new method of delivering the craft experience holds the promise of carrying us forward.
In this discussion, Tom and I sat down to begin to explore what that “new normal” looks like when put up against the future prospects of the taproom and distribution.
Timestamps for your reference:
- 0:00 – An introduction to The Package Store.
- 2:00 – Doom and gloom vs. the opportunistic pivot: how our inner circle is tackling the problem head-on and what’s come out of it.
- 8:40 – What’s going to happen when the reopen occurs?
- 11:33 – If not the taproom, brewpub, bars and restaurants, where does the demand go?
- 12:55 – The Package Store: The alternative option for the taproom patron and what we can learn from Amazon.
- 14:57 – How do we package up and bring the taproom experience home?
- 17:05 – It looks like we now have three distinct business models. What are the implications?
- 17:42 – What do people pay a premium for and can we maintain those margins with packaged product?
- 21:23 – Design, marketing, and cadence will become more important than ever. How should breweries be upgrading their capabilities?
- 30:42 – Online ordering and what we can learn about reducing friction and improving the experience from ecommerce and consumer brands.
- 35:17 – Other implications: What do we do with our taproom? How do we rethink events and repurpose the space?
- 39:53 – A closing summary and a request for feedback.
This is just the beginning and we’d love to get your feedback.
If you have insight, questions, or constructive criticism to add to the discussion email chris@sbstandard.com to strike up a conversation.