Green Flash Brewing Co. has officially entered the state of Michigan with a series of kickoff events through October. The San Diego based craft brewery is teaming up with Alliance Beverage, Eastown Distributors and Powers Distributing to distribute and support the lineup of specialty craft beer throughout Michigan. The entire Green Flash portfolio including West Coast IPA, Hop Head Red, Double Stout and all seasonal rotations including the recently released Green Bullet (Triple IPA) will be available statewide in bottles and on draft. In addition, several Green Flash special and limited release offerings, including the popular Hop Odyssey series, will be available in the market to satisfy Michigan’s thirst for bold, hop-forward craft beers. With this month’s entry into Michigan, Green Flash is now available in 44 states.
“Michigan has been on our radar for a few years. It is an outstanding beer market and home to some of the best craft breweries in the country”, says Jim Kenny, vice president of sales at Green Flash. “Our primary concern before entering the state was supply. We wanted to make sure production could meet the market’s demand. Now that I am confident that we can sufficiently supply Green Flash beer to Michigan, we are ready to rock n roll.”
Each partner will support the Green Flash launch with ongoing kickoff events and ongoing activation in the on and off-premise, including guided tastings, concentrated sales training and a variety of consumer events.
“We have researched the market and selected strong distribution by partnering with three powerhouse craft distributors: Alliance Beverage; Eastown Distributing; and Powers Distributing,” Kenny said.
The initial launch will target key on and off-premise craft accounts in major metropolitan areas to showcase the Green Flash lineup. This will be backed by heavy display and point of sale activity as well ongoing events that will extend beyond the launch.
“Craft beer has a 4.9 percent share of the Michigan Market, up 24.7 percent in 2012, a pace continues to trend in 2013. The Michigan craft drinker loves hops, and the Green Flash portfolio fits in perfectly with the taste preferences of our consumers,” said Paul Quasarano, President Eastown Distributors about Green Flash market entry. “The retailers are very excited about the launch, as well as the long term brand success”
“Alliance’s craft portfolio is strategically skewed toward local Michigan and regional breweries,” explained Alliance Beverage President Shawn Gary. “However, we are always on the lookout for national brands that offer quality and distinctive beer styles that will lead to long-term incremental sales growth. The West Michigan market is known for producing and consuming bold beers, and that is why we are confident that this market will embrace the Green Flash quality portfolio.”
Alliance Beverage is a joint venture formed between Kent Beverage and B&B Distributing in 2013. Family owned and operated, Alliance Beverage services over 4,800 customers across the Western half of Michigan. With three distribution facilities and five sales offices our employees live in and are active in the communities they serve.
Eastown Distributors‘ Specialty Beer Division was created to focus more closely on Eastown’s craft beer and specialty import portfolio. Included in this division are three local breweries which continue to grow at rates far higher than the industry as a whole. Similar to the Eastown of the 1930s, product is picked up from the local brewery and delivered fresh to their retailers. With customer service and product quality as their top priority, Eastown continues to stay ahead of the industry.
Powers Distributing was started in 1939 and is owned and operated by company co-president’s Robert and Gerald Powers. Currently, Powers Distributing has over 2600 retail accounts and 200 employees managing 85 brands through 30 different supplier relationships. Training is a key element to Powers sales success. All current and new sales employees are Certified Servers or Certified Cicerones.
