Gritty's remakes its look one beer label at a time
Photo/Rebecca Goldfine
Gritty McDuff's Marketing Director Thomas Wilson, left, and co-owner and publican Richard Pfeffer inspect the newest incarnations of the Gritty's brand
Longtime craft brewery Gritty McDuff's is redesigning its packaging to help its bottles and six-packs attract more attention in a crowded beer market.
"We wanted them to jump off the shelf," says Portland-based Gritty's co-owner Richard Pfeffer, sitting in the pale light of a wintery afternoon at his Fore Street pub. His marketing director, Thomas Wilson, describes the scene a typical beer customer might face: "You're standing in front of the beer cooler, and there are 30 types of beer all competing to stand out. And it's a split-second decision."
In the past year, Pfeffer says three or four local brewers have started up, with two more on their way in 2011. And that's just in Maine. Independent, small brewers are likely attracted by the sector's continuing growth, which posted a 12% increase in dollar sales nationwide in the first half of 2010, compared to 9% growth during the same period in 2009, according to the national Brewers Association. But microbrews still only account for 3% of the entire beer industry, Pfeffer clarifies.
Between July 2009 and July 2010, 100 new breweries opened across the country, the highest in 100 years, the association reports.
With Gritty's feeling the pressure of more competitors, it must also tend to the discerning tastes of its demographic. "We're all in the business of providing something new for customers," Pfeffer says, and brewers must keep up by creating new ales or packaging. "We're in the entertainment business."
Craft beer drinkers tend to be young and fairly sophisticated, Pfeffer explains, and they demand change and variety. This will be Gritty's fourth makeover in the 22 years it has been in business.
Wilson adds, "In this business, if you remain stagnant, you won't be in the business for very long."
The new design has a more contemporary feel, and is "brighter, fresher and more cohesive," Wilson describes. Replacing the former old-fashioned characters on the label of the company's most popular beer, Pub Style, are familiar types you might actually see in a Gritty's bar. One patron has a red-plaid shirt; another is wearing a ball cap.
The total redesign investment will likely come to $100,000, Pfeffer says, and will be staged throughout the coming year. The company has had help from Christopher Hadden Design and Marty Braun, a Maine-based illustrator. So far, two beers have been rebranded and will be out in stores soon.
Pfeffer and his partner, Ed Stebbins, started Gritty's in 1988 in Portland, and today have more than 150 employees, three pubs and a distribution network in nine states, including Maine. Maine, though, still accounts for 80% to 85% of its sales. At least 60% to 70% of the beer Gritty's makes is distributed, with the remainder sold in Gritty's bars.
Pfeffer says he can't anticipate how much sales might change due to the new label design, but he hopes to see an immediate jump. In the past year, craft beer sales began to climb again after flattening in 2008 and 2009, according to Wilson. Last year, Gritty's brewed 10,000 barrels, or 310,000 gallons of beer, and hopes to increase that volume by 10% next year.
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