Case 3

Competition in the Craft Brewing Industry in 2017

John D. Varlaro Johnson & Wales University

John E. Gamble Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi

Locally produced or regional craft beers caused a seismic shift in the U.S. beer industry during the early 2010s with the gains of the small, regional newcomers coming at the expense of such well-known brands as Budweiser, Miller, Coors, and Bud Light. Craft breweries, which by definition sold fewer than 6 million barrels (bbls) per year, expanded rapidly with the deregulation of intrastate alcohol distribution and retail laws and a change in consumer preferences toward unique and high-quality beers. The growing popularity of craft beers allowed the total beer industry in the United States to increase by 6.7 percent annually between 2011 and 2016 to reach $39.5 billion. The production of U.S. craft breweries more than doubled from 11.5 million bbls per year to about 24.6 million bbls per year during that time. In addition, production by microbreweries and brewpubs accounted for 90 percent of craft brewer growth in 2016. 1

The industry had begun to show signs of a slowdown going into 2017, with Boston Beer Company, the second largest craft brewery in the United States and known for its Samuel Adams brand, experiencing a 4 percent sales decline in 2016 that erased two years of of growth. The annual revenues of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, whose portfolio included global brands Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois and numerous international and local brands, remained relatively consistent from 2014 to 2016. However, the sales volume of Anheuser-Busch’s flagship brands and its newly acquired and international brands such as Corona, Goose Island, Shock Top, Beck’s, and St. Pauli Girl allowed it to control 45.8 percent of the U.S. market for beer in 2016. 2

Industry competition was increasing as grain price fluctuations affected cost structures and growing consolidation within the beer industry—led most notably by AB InBev’s acquisition of several craft breweries, Grupo Modelo, and its pending $104 billion acquisition of SABMiller—created a battle for market share. While the market for specialty beer was expected to gradually plateau by 2020, it appeared that the slowing growth had arrived by 2017. Nevertheless, craft breweries and microbreweries were expected to expand in number and in terms of market share as consumers sought out new pale ales, stouts, wheat beers, pilsners, and lagers with regional or local flairs.

The Beer Market

The total economic impact of the beer market was estimated to be 2.0 percent of the total U.S. GDP in 2016 when variables such as jobs within beer production, sales, and distribution were included. 3   Exhibit 1  presents annual beer production statistics for the United States between 2006 and 2016.