Beaus All Natural Brewing Company: Crafting International Opportunities

Following the successful launch of Beau’s All Natural Brewing Company (Beau’s) in all 10 Canadian provinces, the craft brewer had its sights set on the next step forward: international markets. The brewery wanted to distribute Beau’s internationally, and agents from numerous distribution agencies had contacted the export manager about the United States and Europe. The export manager was also considering Asian markets as an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of that emerging market. In his view, this market was less congested than the competitive European and American craft beer markets. While market selection was an important consideration, the export manager wondered about how to pursue international growth as a viable strategic option for a craft brewer. Did exporting craft beer make sense? With Beau’s being Canada’s largest producer of organic craft beer, the export manager knew that he had to determine the strategic fit for Beau’s growth aspirations in advance of meetings with prospective agents.

This case is appropriate for an upper-year, undergraduate business course in international business during the internationalization section, or in a strategy course during the small business niche strategy section. The case assumes that students have had a basic introduction to internationalization and strategy. The case provides an opportunity for students to consider an atypical decision for a craft brewer: exporting beyond local markets. The decision is atypical because most craft brewers pursue a focused differentiation strategy. Why, then, would a craft brewer go international? How would a craft brewer manage this? After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:<ul><li>Understand small business niche strategy and the challenge of growth beyond focused differentiation.</li><li>Experience the decision-making process of early-stage export internationalization, including basic market evaluation and establishing fit with strategy.</li><li>Consider the resource impact of managing growth as a result of market internationalization.</li></ul>

• Niche Strategy
• Internationalization
• Craft Beer