Craft Beers Making Inroads at Supermarkets

More items going on shelves.

Consumers are finding more craft beers to choose from at supermarkets, according to beer market analysis by ACNielsen.

As of mid-February, the number of craft beer items carried by retailers has increased by 16 percent to 22.8 items, according to ACNielsen.

That sort of growth shouldn’t be surprising given the growth of craft brews. In 2006, craft beer shipments jumped by 11.8 percent to 8.1 million barrels, according to figures from Beer Marketer’s Insights. The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, a unit of Miller Brewing Company, saw shipments increase by nearly 9 percent to 370,000 barrels.

Meanwhile, the number of import items carried on shelves increased by 6.5 percent to 44 items per share.

The big question now is how much space crafts and imports will gain as retailers reset their shelves this spring -- and what brands will lose out.

Comments

[mike]

This flavor revolution is happening in every aisle - bread-coffee-cheese-beer - consumers wants flavor&variety .Up until now buyers have only had big 3 brewery reps in their offices & they tell them what sells is Bud-Miller-Coors -low margin high volume spin your wheels for no money beers that taste like water! yeah!

[Rick Clay]

The Brewers Association defines a craft brewer as being small (producing less than two million barrels a year), independent (less than 25 percent of the company is owned or controlled by a non-craft brewing company in the alcohol business), and traditional (having either an all-malt flagship brand or "at least 50% of its volume in either all malt beers or in beers which use adjuncts to enhance rather than lighten flavor).

Given the Brewers Association defination why would you include Leinenkugal ("a unit of Miller Brewing Company") in a story about crfat beer?

Regards,