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Listen to or watch the original content Marc Charpentier is one of the co-founders of La Brasserie Fondamentale, which produces and distributes craft beers,…
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Marc Charpentier is one of the co-founders of La Brasserie Fondamentale, which produces and distributes craft beers, and seeks to promote and operate venues offering experiences around this beer.
Beer consumption is around 33 litres per person, competing with wine, which remains the most widely consumed. Craft beer is largely distributed through wine and beer shops, bars and restaurants, hence the extremely strong impact of the COVID crisis, and the significant rebound recently.
Consumers are willing to pay more for better-quality service and products and now favour small producers, according to Marc. Craft breweries can therefore try to enter mass retail without fear of damaging their brand image by gaining the status of a premium product. There is a strong expansion in sales to individuals and e-commerce in response to the constraints, with logistics groups reinventing themselves.
According to Marc, it is important to have a clear vision from production through to distribution, and not to diversify into every distribution channel too quickly. Distribution to restaurants or bars therefore presents a challenge for La Brasserie Fondamentale, whether directly or indirectly, depending on sales outreach and delivery.
LBF aims to develop an extraordinary consumer experience, which involves staging the tasting venue in addition to the craft product.
The CSR dimension also needs to be developed, with a stronger commitment to promoting responsible consumption, since a home brewer uses 11 litres of water to produce one litre of beer, while LBF now uses only 6 by treating the water discharged by the production process.
Innovation in craft brewing also means returning to its roots, aromatic richness and a diversity of ingredients, such as a sour beer with apricot and rosemary, or a coffee beer. The trend is also moving towards no-alcohol or low-alcohol products, which Marc calls “sessions”, versions with a lower alcohol content.
The market is now populated by countless small players, and acquisitions aimed at increasing companies’ capacity are numerous, creating broader product portfolios. Craft breweries account for a very large share by number, but an extremely small share by value, with the 5 largest players accounting for 90% of market revenue.