Major brewers are evolving strategies to get into the craft beer industry.
As the craft beer industry continues to grow at a rapid pace, larger brewing companies are paying big to stake a claim in the industry.
According to a report from CNN Money, Constellation Brands, the company behind Corona Extra and Modelo Especial has announced a transaction for $1 billion to acquire craft brewer Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits. This purchase is Constellation’s investment in Ballast Point’s growth potential.
Mega-brands, such as Bud and Coors, are losing speed in the industry, while Ballast Point expects to sell more than four million cases of beer in 2015, which is more than double the previous year. According to industry trade group, The Brewers Association, craft beer sales grew by 18% last year, making it a strategic move for major brewers to get involved.
Constellation Brands is not the first in the industry to test the waters in the craft brewing industry, and Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller have also made investments in the industry, but these brewers remain strategic with their investments.
Many brewers have bought minority shares in smaller companies in order to have control over a brand that consumers believe to be independent.