As the craft beer industry exploded, Brewery Branding Co. grew with it. The company wasn’t created as some well-timed bet on a burgeoning industry, though. It was just a natural choice for Co-founder Jeremy Wood, who was already a distributor and appreciated a nice craft beer.
He recognized that it would be a good niche to focus on, though. And as America went through its craft beer revolution, he had no shortage of customers.
“When we were starting out, there were probably 1,500 craft breweries countrywide,” he said. “We just wanted to see if we could work with a handful of them. Quite honestly, we were pretty good at being ASI distributors, but really wanted to find an industry that we were passionate about and find a niche that we really wanted to dig into. Being in Portland, right before that real explosion of craft breweries, was a good time and place. We feel like we were the right people, so really stuck to that niche and it helped us grow.”
Now 17 years into his business, Brewery Branding Co. has brought a good deal of its decoration in-house as a way to better manage their products’ quality and inventory for their end-buyer clients.
“We’ve always wanted to bring decoration in-house,” Wood said. “Like a lot of ASI distributors, we leaned heavily on contract decorators. Over the years, our goal was to bring as much in-house as we could, just because we have enough flowing through to support it. We got on that train just in the last year or so and opened up a shop a few months ago.”
They found the right people and space, along with investing in screen-printing equipment, and were off to the races – fast.
“Our goal was to be printing 60% or 70% by year’s end,” he said. “I’d say after two months we’re probably printing 85%, so we’re already looking at more machines.”
Having control over that much of their decoration has allowed them to be more granular and particular about the end-product.
“Not that our contract printers weren’t quality, but we know that in the contract printing world they want to keep those machines running 24/7,” he said. “The little things like, ‘Hey, we need a press check,’ and, ‘Hey, we need a sample done,’ or, ‘We want to tweak and really look at those ink colors,’ it’s hard to lock down a contract printer to be able to do that, because time is money for them. And we get it. So for us having our own control over those little things, it may not be the most efficient thing in the world, but it’s something we can really lean on.”
In this episode of Convergence Corner, Wood talks to Hosts Brendan Menapace and Christopher Ruvo about working with a big-name distillery, how his company finds products to keep his clients’ brands fresh – and why pitching bottle openers to breweries can sometimes be a mistake.
Podcast Chapters
0:40: Jeremy’s background in the industry and founding Brewery Branding Co.
2:30: How print plays a role in beverage marketing in breweries and distributors
4:10: Bringing decoration in-house
8:45: Case study working with High West Distillery
16:25: Keeping products fresh for seasonal releases
19:05: The importance of small details and finding exciting products
22:35: Jeremy’s advice for distributors looking to find a niche
Key Takeaways
• Strategic Growth With the Craft Beer Boom: Brewery Branding Co. capitalized on the rise of craft beer by aligning its services with the evolving needs of breweries, helping them scale their branding and merchandise.
• Print as a Tangible Brand Experience: Co-Founder Jeremy Wood emphasized that printed merchandise – like apparel, glassware and signage – serves as a physical extension of a brewery’s brand.
• In-House Production Shift: The company transitioned to bringing most of its decoration and production in-house, which improved quality control.
• Branding as a Differentiator: Wood emphasized that strong branding is essential for breweries to stand out in a crowded market, especially as competition intensifies.
• Adaptability & Innovation: Staying agile and open to change has been key to their success, especially in responding to market shifts and client feedback.
