E-Malt.com News article: USA, PA & MA: Yuengling plans to re-enter Massachusetts beer market

Yuengling is locking into a plan to finally bring its popular lager and other beers back to Massachusetts early next year for the first time since it exited the market two decades ago.
According to Banker & Tradesman, Representatives of Pennsylvania-based D.G. Yuengling & Son are spending this week meeting with retailers and distributors across Massachusetts to solidify its plan for the move into the Bay State in the spring.

One of those company reps is Bob McCormick, sales development and administration manager. He said meetings with retailers and distributors are still in the "informal" stages, while he develops a better understanding of how the industry here operates.

Whether the company would build a brewery in Massachusetts is undetermined. While the plan is to go through the established network of beer distributors, it's possible the company could underestimate demand. If its existing facilities cannot keep up, Yuengling could eventually be driven to build its own Bay State brewery, said David Casinelli, the company's chief operating officer.

According to its website, Yuengling sells its beer in 14 states, from New York to Florida, and Washington, D.C. When asked why it has taken so long to reopen the flood gates to beer drinkers in Massachusetts, McCormick said it's often a question of capacity, among other considerations.
"We are very deliberate, and we really take our time when it comes to expansion. We want to make sure we do it right ... and do what's best for our company and the Yuengling family," he offered.

Doing it right means understanding the market in every state. This is the first time McCormick has ever been to Massachusetts on business, and each state where Yuengling sells beer is a little different, so he's still getting the lay of the land, he said. In Massachusetts, the majority of sales volume comes from package stores, or "packies" as they are fondly known, versus supermarkets or Walmarts like in other states.

"We haven't spent enough time here to know the market," McCormick opined. "We've only been here" for a few days, so he is unsure who would be the biggest competition, he said.

Arguably, Yuengling's most popular beer is its lager, and that lager would likely compete directly with a local brew called Samuel Adams Boston Lager. Sam Adams beer is distributed to all 50 states, according to Jessica Paar, spokesperson for parent company Boston Beer Co.

Unfortunately, Boston Beer Co. founder and chairman Jim Koch is currently "out in the hop fields in Bavaria sourcing hops for our beers," so he was unavailable to comment on the new competition.

Yuengling left Massachusetts and the entire New England region by 1993, but not because the company wanted to exit the market, according to COO Casinelli. A much smaller operation at the time, Yuengling pulled out of the region because its local market "exploded, and we couldn't produce enough beer" to keep up with the demand. "We wanted to protect our local market first," Casinelli offered.

This would be the first new market Yuengling has entered since deciding to socially lubricate Ohio in late 2011, according to Casinelli.




18 October, 2013