Chris Prangel is set to inherit an eighty-one year old family run business known as the Mountain Man Beer Company (MMBC). In five years his father, Oscar Prangel, is planning on retiring. MMBC has been brewing one type of beer, the Mountain Man Lager for the company’s entirety. Mountain Man Lager is a highly recognizable brand, especially in the East Central region of the United States. It is commonly known as “West Virginia’s beer.”
For the first time, MMBC has seen a 2% decline in sales which is due to changing preferences in the market. Younger drinkers have been shifting towards light beers. Consequently, light beer sales in the United States have been growing annually at 4% each year. These individuals that are changing the market are at the prime age for establishing brand loyalty towards a beer company. Unfortunately for MMBC and Chris, the firm’s core customers are blue-collar males over the age of 45. In response, Chris is interested in launching a lighter version of their traditional brew …show more content…
By 2005, Mountain Man generated revenues of over $50 million by selling over 520,000 barrels. Mountain Man currently deals with distributors in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the home state of West Virginia. Mountain Man Lager has been the most popular lager in its distributing states for almost 50 years. The lager is rated as the best known regional beer, “Best Beer in West Virginia” in 2005, “Best Beer in Indiana,” and “America’s Championship Lager.” The man attributes ascribed to the Mountain Man Lager is it’s bitter flavor, slightly higher than average alcohol content, and quality. Because distributors don’t strive to build any one company’s brand, MMBC established its own sales force by focusing on getting off-premise locations to embrace the brand. This can be observed as blue-collar males purchase 60% of their beer at these locations and 70% of Mountain Man’s sales were from off-premise
For the first time, MMBC has seen a 2% decline in sales which is due to changing preferences in the market. Younger drinkers have been shifting towards light beers. Consequently, light beer sales in the United States have been growing annually at 4% each year. These individuals that are changing the market are at the prime age for establishing brand loyalty towards a beer company. Unfortunately for MMBC and Chris, the firm’s core customers are blue-collar males over the age of 45. In response, Chris is interested in launching a lighter version of their traditional brew …show more content…
By 2005, Mountain Man generated revenues of over $50 million by selling over 520,000 barrels. Mountain Man currently deals with distributors in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the home state of West Virginia. Mountain Man Lager has been the most popular lager in its distributing states for almost 50 years. The lager is rated as the best known regional beer, “Best Beer in West Virginia” in 2005, “Best Beer in Indiana,” and “America’s Championship Lager.” The man attributes ascribed to the Mountain Man Lager is it’s bitter flavor, slightly higher than average alcohol content, and quality. Because distributors don’t strive to build any one company’s brand, MMBC established its own sales force by focusing on getting off-premise locations to embrace the brand. This can be observed as blue-collar males purchase 60% of their beer at these locations and 70% of Mountain Man’s sales were from off-premise