Mountain Man Brewing Company Case Analysis Essay Example
Mountain Man Brewing Company (MMBC) was started in 1925 with its specialty lager. The target market has been blue-collar middle to lower-class men over the age of 45, but recently the company has seen a 2% drop in sales. The current domestic beer market has begun introducing numerous types of light beers which has seen an overall 4% increase in sales due to the change in preferences of the younger segment. Mountain Man has strong brand awareness and is known as the “West Virginia’s Beer”. It has been successful within its target market but therefore has deterred younger generations from trying it because it was too strong or a “working man’s beer”. The company is the picture of the 80/20 rule, while its target segment is small, it has been the reason for a majority of its sales. Yet, now with the shift within the market Chris Prangel, son of the founder, needs to decide if he should introduce Mountain Man Light. Furthermore, he has two options for the brand extension to utilize the Mountain Man name with the light beer or establish it as a separate brand name.
After creating a trial lifestyle advertisement, MMBC found that the only category it really resonated with was women in their early twenties most likely categorized as “hipsters”, Consumers seen as their current target market did not find it appealing and were not interested. While this could be seen as a negative thing, I think it is good. If MMBC is having declining sales it could be because they do not have a target market that can grow. When this beer was first released it was set for the right target market but as the new 55-year-old men come and the old 55-year-old men reach into their 80’s, the new 55-year-olds may not be drawn to the coal mining working-class beer as the previous generation had. MMBC needs a new route to create a longer lifetime value for each customer. By introducing the light beer it can begin to put its name on the board and increase brand awareness within the younger generations which will filter throughout the demographics it is missing and in the end, result in people not only reaching for the light version but also for their classic lager.
Even though the market is heavily saturated with the wave of light beer, MMBC has a point of differentiation compared to its main domestic competitors such as Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors: it is family-owned, it has the local authenticity that the younger target market is very interested in. There is a shift within society for younger generations to care more about where their money is going and to avoid large corporations. In this regard, by entering into the market with something that a new target market already likes but with the stamp of family-owned and authenticity, the results could be even better than expected.
Based on the factors consumers consider when purchasing a beer: taste, price, occasion, quality perceived, brand image, tradition, and local authenticity. MMBC can rise to the platform with a strong brand image even if the new target market has not used the product before they most likely have heard of it and know the tradition behind it as well. Compared to other domestic light beers it will have higher perceived quality, I know from personal experience that very few people really rave about the quality, they more so are looking for that easy-drinking taste and lower price point.
With the perceived growth of the light beer market, MMBC can create a diverse set of products to attain multiple categories of people and create a longer lifetime value per customer. In today’s world, a company needs to show that it can be innovative and meet the consumers where they are. To remain stagnant would result in inevitable failure. MMBC should extend its beer into a lighter formula to appeal to a younger segment that is backed by authenticity, quality, and family.
