Friday 2 July 2010

Birth of a Brand?


Beer is king! A huge growth in the sales of imported lagers and beers as well as the output of microbrewers has meant great change for the license trade.

Whilst big names such as Carling and Fosters dominate the pumps of bars up and down the country, the continental beer invasion has been swift and grows daily. When Heineken acquired Scottish and Newcastle - The UK’s largest independent brewer, the continental Beer invasion was absolute.

The economic downturn has seen a significant move from the cocktail culture of previously prosperous years; craft brews have been the order of the day, and not just with male drinkers. The growing army of female drinkers have noticed the trend too; and some of the beers in the market such as Molson Coors’ Kasteel Cru - Champagne yeast brewed Alsatian lager, with its Rose and Blanc variant has proved a massive seller with the Female consumer. Fruit Beers from Liefmans, Timmermans and Fruli have seen females drive sales of beer rocket over the typical tipples for females, such as wine and cocktails.

Aiming for a timeless USP for a bar is almost impossible; theme bars by their very nature have a limited lifespan. So creating something that had longevity, had sufficient USP’s to make it attractive in a crowded market place and have broad appeal would need a lot of thought.

With the supermarkets using alcohol as loss leaders increasingly widespread, the publican has to try hard to attract customers away from their cheap alcohol, large format flat screen TV’s and heated Patios! So why would a consumer step out of his or her own drinking and leisure palace to drink elsewhere, paying perceptible premium for the pleasure?

We needed a Brand that would stand up in any town, convey immediately what the offering was and be a good blend of the timeless and the contemporary - a tall order in anyone’s book.

So with a background of increased consumer growth in the Continental Beer and World Beer Markets it seemed sensible to focus the new concept in this area. Taking an idea I first formulated some 4 years ago, inspired by the Beer Halle’s of Glasgow and from a trip to Germany, I re-addressed the concept for the 21st Century.

The drinking ‘experience’ itself had to have something special attached, many of the continental beers had their own branded glassware, designed to enhance the drinking experience. We would go one better, we would introduce the largest of all drinking vessels, the Mas or STEIN, the 1ltr (2Pint in the UK) branded drinking pot.

Many of the classic Brands we still enjoy today were born in the early part of the 20th Century, such as coca Cola, Cadbury, Ford.

From the font, design copybooks of the early 20th century came the idea for a simple Iconic idea, which would translate, into a perennial brand. Our offering would be 70+ Beers from the continent and around the world, Live Music performed on a branded stage, handmade branded Beer enhanced Pies and that Oktoberfest favourite Roast Chicken.

So one very wintery night in the Historic Quayside Area of Newcastle upon Tyne, STEIN Bier Keller™ was born.
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