Variety packs have been a long-time staple in beer, giving a brewery a chance to offer up multiple beers in one handy pack that, as the name suggests, offers a range of styles and flavors. A stroll through beer stores will reveal that breweries of all sizes are embracing the multi-beer format.
To get deeper insight into one breweries thinking behind releasing a variety pack All About Beer editor John Holl spoke with Cape May Brewing Company Director of Sales Josh Havey.
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New Jersey’s Cape May Brewing Company recently released its debut craft beer variety 12-pack, which includes four of their flagship offerings. Cape May IPA, Always Ready Hazy Pale Ale, Cape May White, and Longliner Lager are all in the pack.
“From crisp and balanced to juicy and hazy, this featured lineup offers something for everyone,” touted a press release.
John Holl: How did the brewery select the beers for this latest variety pack?
Josh Havey: We selected four of our strong core beers, all of which are experiencing individual growth on their own. With Cape May IPA and Always Ready Pale Ale as our two core leaders, we saw an opportunity for growth with Cape May White and our Longliner Lager. Variety Packs are a great way to reach more consumers and we are relying on the strength of these brands’ sales to successfully introduce this new format. Variety has always been an attribute for our brand and with this core selection, we are confident that we have something for everyone.
John Holl: What is the marketplace telling you about the consumer desire for variety in one package?
Josh Havey: We’ve received feedback from both our retailers and wholesale partners about having more options in larger pack sizes. Last year, we debuted a Cape May IPA 12-pack with great success and this no doubt paved the way for our partners to start asking about when we were going to produce a Cape May Variety Pack. After looking at data in other markets where variety packs were performing well, the Variety 12-pack seemed like a piece that was missing in our portfolio.
John Holl: How do you handle the logistics of brewing for the pack and then packing the boxes? What have you learned that works for efficiency?
Josh Havey: Rather than brewing for this package specifically, we are able to increase production on these four core products that are already in the brewing schedule on a regular basis. This brewing frequency allows us to ship our freshest beer to our repacker who sends it back to us within a week for distribution to retailers.
John Holl: Are you able to monitor consumer preferences from the beers (what they like vs. not so much) in the box? If so, how?
Josh Havey: We pay attention to what our fans say on social media and read consumer reviews regularly. In this case, it’s hard to tell because these are our core products and already see frequent check-ins and positive reviews on a regular basis. And with only two weeks so far at retail, we’ll be tracking growth on these products on their own, as well. In addition, we’ll gauge consumer sentiment in the fall when we conduct an annual market survey and glean additional insights for the future.