The Boston Beer Company

The Boston Beer Company (BBC) is one of the largest companies in the beer crafting segment founded in 1984 by Jim Koch and Rhonda Kollman. Major brews that the company produces are the Boston Lager and Samuel Adams Light along with 50 other brew selections under distinctive lines such as Seasonal Brews, Brewmaster’s collection, Barrell Room Collection, Speciality Beers, Limited Release Beers, Twisted Teas and Hard Ciders. The Company began with James Koch’s great-great grandfather’s family recipe. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, small regional brewers like the Koch family, struggled to survive due to the growing competition. In 1984, James Koch had resurrected their family recipe and produced the first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager. The company wanted to reach out to American beer drinkers that valued flavourful and bitter tasting beers. The company shares astonishing growth with the other speciality brewers in the early 90s. By 1994, the Boston Beer company was the largest in the craft beer segment, selling over 714,000 barrels of beer. The company sales have grown from $18.9 million in 1990, to $114.8 million in 1994 which presents an annual growth of 57%. The Boston Beer Company distributes to all 50 states as well as 20 international countries which include Canada, Germany, and Australia. The company produces around two and half barrels of beer annually and makes up less than one percent of the US beer market. Ever since the inception in the 1980s, The Boston Beer Company has been one of the leading craft brewers. With recent changes in the Beer industry, it has affected the market share between craft brewers and larger companies such as MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch. With the aging population in America, beer consumption is slowing where consumers have greater value for quality of the beer over quantity. The craft brewing industry has seen a 14% boost in overall sales with the 2% decline in beer consumption. With the growth of the beer crafting segment, it is certain that competition will soon surface.

The Boston Beer Company has thrived off the success of high quality standards, contract brewing, intensive sales and marketing and product line innovations. To ensure quality is met, many tests are performed; tastings and evaluations are placed to meet company specifications. The company also differentiated its products by stamping each bottle with a product freshness date. BBC does not own a brewery which incurred lower capital and overhead costs, which resulted in higher gross margins. To gain superior product freshness, BBC based breweries on those that were closer which saved on transportation costs as fewer distances would be travelled. BBC was able to produce positive advertisement with unique ads designed for the beer-drinking consumers. With the population aging, social pressures on drinking and driving, and healthier diets have a large effect on the growth of consumptions. BBC has to compete with major