CBC 2014 Video: How Do Craft Brewers Define Success?

Run your own race.

That’s the advice Marty Ochs, the founder of E3 Craft Strategies and the former vice president of sales for Ninkasi Brewing, gives to craft brewers when they ask him how to measure success.

For Ochs, success doesn’t come down to comparing volume growth relative to other craft companies in the space, but rather setting long-term goals and executing marketplace objectives.

“The measure of success is for them to set the bar where they believe they should be at and not look at anyone else,” he told Brewbound during last week’s Craft Brewers Conference in Denver, Colo.

Brewbound asked a number of attendees at the week-long event how they defined success, beyond brewing a quality pint.

While the answers varied, a common thread seemed to emerge. First and foremost, craft breweries must maintain profitability. But beyond the books, many craft beer business owners define success by the degree to which they are involved in their communities, their ability to grow market share and secure retail placements as well as their opportunity to continue providing steady, living-wage jobs in a growing industry.

Included above is the first segment in a series of videos that were shot at last week’s conference.