Miller tries 'craft style light'
04.04.2008 05:06
Home
- Source: JS Online
Three new craft beer spinoffs from Miller Lite will be launched nationwide as Miller Brewing Co. continues to exploit a growing consumer preference for craft beers. The Miller Lite Brewers Collection recorded strong sales during recent test marketing in Minneapolis, Charlotte, N.C., San Diego and Baltimore, said company spokesman Julian Green. The three new craft versions of Miller Lite - a blonde ale, an amber beer and a wheat beer - will be rolled out in phases, with the three beers available nationally by the end of September, Green said Wednesday. The beers have fewer calories (110) than a typical craft beer, Green said. Miller hopes to create a new market niche, which it calls "craft style light," he said. Green said the three new beers will target mainstream drinkers and capitalize on trends that favor light beer, a greater variety of beer styles and a willingness to pay more for higher-quality beers. "Some drinkers may be intimidated by craft beers given the heavy flavor profile and full calorie," Green said in a statement. The new beers provide an option to drinkers "who want a variety of craft tastes with fewer calories and carbs," he said. The new beers are priced between mainstream light beers and typical craft beers. Light beer makes up roughly one-half of U.S. beer sales volume and is the dominant category in the beer industry. Miller Lite is Miller's largest brand, accounting for 46% of the company's sales volume in 2007. But craft beers, such as Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, are taking a growing share of sales. That niche accounted for only 4.2% of sales in 2007 but enjoyed a 12% sales volume increase over 2006, according to trade publication Beer Marketer's Insights. That compares with industrywide growth of 1.4%. Miller and other major brewers have been beefing up their craft portfolio. Miller's main craft growth has come through its Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. subsidiary, which has enjoyed strong sales over the past two years from its Sunset Wheat brand. Leinenkugel Brewing's sales increased 24% in 2007, and it recently announced plans to expand its seasonal Summer Shandy brand to nationwide distribution. The Leinenkugel subsidiary, with breweries in Chippewa Falls and Milwaukee, accounts for 1.2% of Miller's sales. Only a few craft brewers have rolled out light beers. The most notable has been Sam Adams Light, which has boosted sales for its owner, Boston Beer Co. Russ Klisch, who operates Milwaukee-based Lakefront Brewery Inc., said Miller's expanded push into the craft beer segment doesn't concern him. "It could help convince more people that they should be drinking different styles of beer," Klisch said. Lakefront's beers include Riverwest Stein, East Side Dark and a newly launched India Pale Ale. "It might be an entre (for mainstream beer drinkers) into the craft segment," agreed Joe Martino, managing partner at Stevens Point Brewery, which is expanding its craft lineup.
| 
Add comment