If you want to start a craft brewery, not think about it. Then you have to know that achieving this goal requires a lot of planning, money, and patience.
Planning the basis for a new brewery
Before starting your craft beer business, you need to understand your goals. Then adjust and refine your business vision based on the situation.
- Determine the start-up cost of opening a craft brewery
- Determine the name, logo and layout of the craft brewery
- Develop a business plan
- Purchase all the equipment needed for the operation
- Legal requirements
- Create financial forecasts
- Microbrewery: produces less than 15,000 barrels of beer per year. Among them, 75% or more of beer sold elsewhere. The microbrewery may also have a taproom selling beer in the store.
- Brewpubs: Brewpubs is a restaurant brewery. It needs to sell at least 25% of beer on-site. In some places, Brewpubs can also sell beer, wine, and spirits from other manufacturers. Of course, there are some places where this prohibited, and you need to check your local laws for specific situations.
- Contract brewing company: In this business model, a company hires another brewery to produce beer. The contract company will handle other business aspects. Such as distribution, marketing, and sales.
- Regional craft breweries: This category is somewhat vague. The BA defines it as “An independent regional brewery with a majority of volume in “traditional” or “innovative” beer(s).”
The cost of opening a craft brewery
Generally, the start-up cost of most craft breweries is between US$500,000 and US$1 million. But, the cost of starting a craft brewery depends on the size, production level, and location of your planned craft brewery.
The cost of opening a craft brewery includes rent or construction cost, beer equipment cost, raw material cost, and employee salary. Of course, there are some other costs. For example, obtaining permits/licenses/insurance costs, renovation costs, furniture costs, technology and software costs. Of course, some marketing expenses required.
If you are brewing beer for the first time and you are not sure if you can get enough funding for this project. Then starting a microbrewery is also a good choice. Because the establishment of a microbrewery does not must a lot of funds. The microbrewery is still expensive for you. But, it is easier to achieve than large craft breweries.
If you want to get the cost of setting up a microbrewery, you can contact us at any time. Our engineer will provide you the price within 24 hours.
Create a brand for your craft brewery
How to establish a name for a craft brewery
- Meaningful: convey the essence of your brand and support the image you want to convey
- Unique: Different, but easy to remember, spell and pronounce
- Scalable: changes with the development of the brewery or the direction of marketing or products
- Protected: can have registered trademarks, and can use in the top-level domain name of the website and social media
- Visual: very suitable for graphic display (logo, packaging design, etc.)
- Persuasive: Encourage customers to interact with your brand
- Emotional: elicits emotional reactions from customers
- Discoverable: should be easy to search online
How to design a craft brewery logo
When designing a craft brewery logo, it needs to design according to the name. These two need to coordinate. Only in this way can we help customers understand the brand.
To help you get inspired, here are some of the most iconic brewery logos. Many of these designs have an old-fashioned but classic look. They can give people a pleasant feeling and make beer drinkers feel relaxed and happy.
- hops
- Wooden barrel
- Common animals/characters (e.g. cats)
- Any icon that can consider old-fashioned or outdated
The color scheme for the craft brewery
Choose a location for your Taproom
- Attractions: Will tourists affect the sales of your brewery?
- Competition: Are there other craft breweries or related companies in this area?
- Demographic characteristics: What are the characteristics of your customer base? What is their lifestyle? What kind of jobs do they have?
Craft brewery floor plan and layout design
- Do you need a restroom?
- Is the brewery the only place where beer can brew?
- How much space do the brewery itself and customer seats need?
- How many guests do you plan to accommodate in the building?
Develop a craft beer business plan
- Executive summary: This section is the most important part of the craft beer business plan and should not exceed one page. The purpose is to summarize the main points of the plan.
- Business overview: This section should include a list of basic information about your craft beer business. Such as legal name, address, and contact information.
- Business description: This section specifies your vision and goals for the craft brewery. It should also include detailed information about the structure, mission statement, concept, and location.
- Market analysis: This section presents relevant statistics on past and current trends in the target market. It includes everything related to the needs of the brewery.
- Consumer analysis: This section uses qualitative and quantitative data to detail statistics about the target audience and customer base.
- Competitor analysis: This section specifies who you think is a competitor. You will compete and within the selected community.
- Marketing: This section outlines what will include in the beer marketing strategy. It includes pricing, positioning, and promotion strategies.
- Operation: This section outlines the daily operations of the brewery. It includes related personnel, suppliers, and details of brewery insurance to brewery license requirements.
- Finance: This part is the most important part of your craft beer business plan. Especially if you need debt financing or are trying to advertise to investors. Include forecasted revenues, costs, and expenses.
Craft brewery equipment
- How much space is available in the craft brewery? Does it need to extend?
- What type of beer are you going to produce?
- What production level do you need?
- Do you want to buy new or second-hand equipment? Or a specific brand of beer equipment?
- What kind of equipment do you want?
The cost of brewery equipment is likely to account for a large part of your budget. Because this is a big decision. So please communicate with suppliers who specialize in beer equipment. If you have a limited budget and want to choose second-hand equipment. I want to tell you that the price of our beer equipment is very competitive. Your brewing system is also critical to the success of your craft beer business. The larger the system, the more beer you produce. Of course, the more beer you can sell. If you want to know the price of Micet Craft beer equipment, you can contact us at any time. We will provide you with the best guidance on the equipment that best suits your needs and constraints. Of course, it also enables you to compare prices.
- Malt miller
- Kettles
- Boilers
- Bottling and canning lines
- Cooling systems
- Storage tanks
- Fermentation tanks
- Bright tanks
- Filters
- Refrigeration equipment
- CIP Cleaning equipment
- Beer pump
- Beer filling system
- Yeast breeding system
- Beer tap handles
- Waste treatment systems
Legal requirements for the craft brewery
The federal and state regulate the alcohol industry. State laws have many requirements for the way craft breweries operate.
You need to research based on the location of the craft brewery. Each state has its own requirements for the opening and operation of craft breweries. You need to prepare basic legal documents.
- Federal Brewery License: This license authorizes you to produce an unlimited amount of beer. Of course, it is also possible to allow restaurants to opened inside the brewery.
- State Liquor License: This license allows you to sell liquor to customers. Laws vary from state to state, so be sure to research the liquor licensing laws in your state before opening them to the public.
- Brewer’s Bond: This is another form of liquor license required for the operation of a winery. Make sure your craft brewery will pay all government and state taxes.
- Operating Agreement: This document outlines all the rules and regulations of LLC (Limited Liability Company).
- Insurance (such as property, casualties, and liability): the scope of compensation for damages.
- Retailer License: This license allows you to sell other products on your own premises. Such as clothing and accessories.
Financial projects and forecasts of craft beer
- Professional winemaker: He can provide you with industry knowledge that you may lack. It can also help you predict sales as possible. If you are looking for investors, they can also help you grow your business.
- Financial expert: He can help you convert sales into financial forecast numbers. Of course, you need to provide him with the variables that affect sales.
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