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Export Development Program News – February 2022

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Director of International Relations

Steve is the international relations director at the Brewers Association. In his role, Steve manages the Export Development Program (EDP) which educates international trade and media about the quality and diversity of products offered by American craft brewers and helps member breweries grow their business in international markets. Prior to his role as EDP manager, Steve spent six and a half years as the assistant director of the American Homebrewers Association helping small & independent brewers and homebrew retailers expand their reach among homebrewers. He lives in Boulder, Colo., where he is a homebrewer, Certified BJCP beer judge, and Advanced Cicerone®.

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EDP Returns for Second Weekend of 2021 Stockholm Beer and Whisky Festival

In December, American craft beer had a strong presence at the 17th annual Stockholm Beer and Whisky Festival thanks to American Craft Beer Ambassador to Europe, Lotte Peplow. Sweden ranks as the second-largest single-country market for American craft beer worldwide. The Stockholm Beer and Whisky Festival presents an invaluable opportunity to interface with both beer drinkers and key retailers and importers in the Nordic region. Thirteen Export Development Program (EDP) members were highlighted at the Brewers Association (BA) booth pouring 40-plus beers. The booth generated significant interest and was constantly busy throughout both weekends.

2021 Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival

Surrounding the festival, Lotte met with Swedish and other Nordic importers as well as representatives from the beer-purchasing department of Systembolaget, Sweden’s government-operated alcohol retailer. The meetings looked at future opportunities for American craft beer in Sweden, as well as how the EDP can most effectively capitalize on these opportunities going forward.

EDP members can find links to Sweden, Norway, and Finland government retailer purchasing plans for 2022 in the Market Research and Launch Plans tab of the EDP member resources area.

Japanese Consumers, Trade, and Media Embrace the American Craft Beer Experience

The American Craft Beer Experience (ACBE) returned to Japan in an extended hybrid format in 2021. The multi-month campaign consisted of digital and social media programming; PR outreach and a media collaboration; an in-person trade tasting workshop attended by 76 buyers; retail promotion supported by 110 businesses; five educational webinars; and two interactive consumer contests. Highlights include 19,300 campaign website visits, 2,780,152 digital ad impressions, and 56 media hits with an estimated reach and value of 190 million and ¥41,240,000.

Following the success of the 2021 campaign, the EDP has made plans to maintain the ACBE website and social media channels throughout 2022. Feedback is being solicited from importer partners and participating trade as the program looks to continue building upon the momentum from 2021 and the hopeful return of the American Craft Beer Experience Festival in 2022. Kanpai!

Read a complete recap of the 2021 American Craft Beer Experience in Japan.

Virtual Market Showcase Connects Brewers with Dutch and Nordic Markets

In December, the EDP partnered with the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) in the Hague to create a virtual trade showcase for American craft breweries interested in exporting to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, and the Netherlands. FAS officials assembled a group of 28 leading importers in the region and scheduled one-on-one virtual meetings on a unique event website with ten participating EDP member breweries over the course of three days. Ahead of the showcase, the EDP coordinated a consolidated air shipment of American craft beer samples from the participating breweries that were sent to attendees for advance sampling. This event was a unique opportunity for U.S. breweries to meet with and engage directly with a variety of potential foreign buyers.

2021 Untappd Market Overview Reports Available for EDP Members

The BA Export Development Program is pleased to announce the release of Untappd Market Overview Reports for 12 international markets: Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom (U.K.), South Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The reports share high-level trends such as popular styles, top commercial venues, and consumer demographics. These reports are created to provide EDP members with key insights on target markets and can be found in the EDP member resources area under Market Research.

American Craft Beer Ambassador to Europe, Lotte Peplow

Europe PR Results for 2021

In 2021, American Craft Beer Ambassador Lotte Peplow’s efforts to drive awareness for American craft beer resulted in 90 media hits for American craft beer in the U.K. and across Europe. The list of links to all the media coverage is too large to include, but here are a few highlights:

  • A virtual tasting of EDP member beers for Dutch media received strong coverage including BierNet.nl’s overview, shared with their 1 million+ readers. The feature further highlighted Lotte’s previously published article on American craft brewer innovation with hops.
  • Features on American craft brewer innovation with hops and barrel-aging were translated and published in Germany, Ukraine, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, and the U.K.
  • Trends in the United States continue to be of interest to the European audience. Lotte provided an update on U.S. consumption trends for Pinta Medicea in Italy, which was later published in Denmark, France, Italy, Sweden, and the U.K. as well.
  • Harnessing the global discussion around sustainability, Lotte wrote an article looking at American craft brewer efforts to do their part. Media pickup occurred in Ukraine on Drinks+, as well as in Italy, Sweden, and the U.K.
  • Following a strong showing at European beer competitions by EDP members, Lotte drove awareness via European trade and consumer publications, including BeerToday.co.uk in the U.K.

Export Track Lineup at the 2022 Craft Brewers Conference

Annually, the EDP uses the Craft Brewers Conference® (CBC) as a draw for international guests and we offer a series of export-oriented seminars designed to educate attending members and foster connections for them with speakers and other international guests. Register early!

CBC 2022 is scheduled for May 2-5 in Minneapolis. Our current lineup of EDP topics and speakers can be found here. For now, scheduled EDP seminars include:

  • Exporting Beer to France, Philippe Jugé, Founder, Amuse-Bouche
  • Exporting Beer to Italy, Luca Corterappis, Marketing Manager and Sandro Vecchiato, CEO, Interbrau
  • Selling Craft Beer in Latin America, Chema Mora, Business Development Manager, Cicerone Certification Program
  • How American Craft Beer Travels the World, Tom Maneschijn, VP Europe Operations at Untappd
Trade Tasting in Shanghai

2022 EDP Activities Reminder

The EDP continues to raise awareness internationally and build export opportunities for American craft brewers. Please refer to the below list of events and marketing activities open for registration, as well as the EDP member resources page:

  • Planète Bière and Brewer Mission to France, Paris France
  • Korea International Beer Expo, Seoul, South Korea
  • China Trade Show and Marketing Activities
  • Australian International Beer Awards
Link to author biography
Director of International Relations

Steve is the international relations director at the Brewers Association. In his role, Steve manages the Export Development Program (EDP) which educates international trade and media about the quality and diversity of products offered by American craft brewers and helps member breweries grow their business in international markets. Prior to his role as EDP manager, Steve spent six and a half years as the assistant director of the American Homebrewers Association helping small & independent brewers and homebrew retailers expand their reach among homebrewers. He lives in Boulder, Colo., where he is a homebrewer, Certified BJCP beer judge, and Advanced Cicerone®.

See Steve Parr's Articles