Innovation, Flagships, New Looks Keys to CANarchy Growth

Now with a lineup of seven breweries, the “collective” of CANarchy recently released information that it grew as a company by 14% in 2019, including a total of 60,000 more barrels produced over production from 2018.

Going into 2019, Matt Fraser, the President and Chief Operating Officer for CANarchy said there was a concerted effort to utilize data insights paired with input from distributor and retailer partners to make more informed decisions.

“This approach provided a healthy balance that allowed us to drive smart innovation while generating healthy core brand growth throughout the collective,” he said in a release.

Innovation was a key point in growth. Successful new beer offerings included Oskar Blues’ Can-O-Bliss IPA Series and Squatters’ Juicy IPA.

Can-O-Bliss is among the Top 10 New Craft 6-Packs introduced in 2019 according to retail IRI scans in Total US Multi-Outlet and Convenience.

Juicy IPA is currently the top-selling IPA brand in Utah. Within the Squatters portfolio, Juicy IPA is now the second best-selling beer overall and top in draft volume and distribution.

All seven flagships in the portfolio experienced an increase in retail scans compared to 2018. Jai Alai IPA by Cigar City was the top-performing flagship brand, which experienced a 41% YoY increase overall with an increase of 37% in Florida. Other successful flagships include Apricot Hefeweizen by Wasatch, which saw an increase of 20%; Hop Rising Double IPA by Squatters, which saw an increase of 15% and Dallas Blonde by Deep Ellum, which saw an increase of 14% compared to 2018 IRI data.

Five of the seven brands transitioned from six-pack rings to full-wrap recyclable cardboard cartons in 2019. Perrin, Wasatch, and Three Weavers designs were reimagined, with updates to logos, cans and secondary packaging.

Other changes included a switch from 12-packs to 15-packs for The Oskar Blues CANundrum Mixed Pack. In 2019, CANundrum saw a near triple-digit rate of sale increase and a +71% dollar sales increase in IRI retail scan data. Also, Cigar City launched its first mixed 12-pack offering and the CANarchy IPA Mix 12-Pack debuted, a coast-to-coast curation of four IPAs from across the group of brands.

Although the company touted some of the increase to hard seltzer sales, the leader in sales growth came from Tampa, Florida’s Cigar City, which does not make hard seltzer. The brewery saw an increase of 36% through its portfolio of beer brands.

That said, CANarchy’s foray into the hard seltzer category contributed to roughly two-thirds of the company’s shipment growth and helped CANarchy brands reach a wider, more diverse consumer base.

CANarchy is comprised of Oskar Blues, Cigar City, Wasatch and Squatters, Deep Ellum, Perrin, and Three Weavers. All sales data and rankings refer to retail scans through IRI Total U.S. Multi-Outlet and Convenience through December 1, 2019.

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