E-Malt.com News article: Australia & United States: Australian Coopers Brewery planning to double exports to the US

Australia’s Coopers Brewery is planning to double its beer exports to the US following the appointment of two new US staff, Food Week reported on August, 4.

An agreement with its American importer, Priess Imports to promote the brand in the US has seen Coopers’ export manager Terry Miniken join Priess as regional manager for the east coast of the US, with responsibility for the Coopers brand. He will also coordinate other Coopers export activities.

Fellow Australian, Michael Cameron, had also been employed by Priess as national beer manager for the west coast.

Coopers Marketing Director and Chairman, Glenn Cooper said the appointment would mean Coopers effectively has two people on the ground working to develop the Coopers brand in the US, in conjunction with Priess.

“We see this as a great opportunity for us and one that will enable Coopers to make strong inroads into the craft beer market, the fastest growing sector of the alcohol market in America.”

Cooper said beer exports globally currently made up about 3 per cent of total sales for Coopers, but anticipated this figure could rise to 8 per cent within five years.

“In the next 12 months, we are looking to increase sales in the US by another 140,000 cases a year,” he said.

“A number of new shipping and warehousing arrangements have also been put in place in the US which will help remove some of the internal transport costs and stabilise price differences between the east and west coasts.”

Miniken, who has worked in the US for Coopers for the past 12 months, said there was a lot of interest in Coopers Pale Ale, Coopers Sparkling Ale, Coopers Stout and Coopers Vintage Ale across America.

“The Americans particularly like the fact that Coopers is still family owned after five generations, they enjoy the prominent kangaroo on the bottle’s neck label and they love the fact that the beers are made without preservatives or additives,” he said.

“There is also strong demand from Australian expats and visitors to the US who search out where Coopers is sold to get a taste of home.

“By concentrating on the craft sector, we are confident we can achieve strong growth, making the US a valuable contributor to Coopers’ overall sales,” he said.


05 August, 2009