As retailers continue to add SKU’s to their shelves and more craft brands emerge into the marketplace, it’s becoming increasingly important that craft brewers separate themselves with creative label designs and innovative packaging.
And while many craft brands have shown tremendous capacity for innovation when it comes to labels and package designs, there are occasions when the ‘home-grown’ feel of the products can seem too ‘home brewed.’
Industry experts agree that the package is essentially a blank canvas for brands to tell their story. A laid-back style is important for some products, but the way that style is portrayed as part of a branding message is important for craft beer companies that want to achieve more.
Brewbound’s Craft Beer Session will offer a design panel that will help craft brewers learn how to tweak their designs so that their inherent creativity can abet, rather than get in the way of, commercial aspirations for their beer. The panel will feature design professionals who have worked across the beer and non-alcoholic beverage industry, as well as notable craft brewers who have achieved success through packaging innovation.
Tomme Arthur from Port/The Lost Abbey and Benjamin Weiss from The Bruery willexplain their brand strategy as it pertains to packaging, label design and marketing. Joining them will be branding experts Ian Mclean and Mark Mitchell who have worked with numerous beverage companies in both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic space.
About the Brewbound Craft Beer Session:
The Brewbound Craft Beer Session is a half-day business conference addressing the topics that most directly impact the decisions craft brewers are faced with as they look to grow their brands. The event focuses on the business side of the craft, offering brewers a unique opportunity to learn and network from industry experts.
Pricing and Registration for the Brewbound Craft Beer Session
About Tomme Arthur:
A native San Diegan, Tomme returned home to San Diego in 1995 after earning his Bachelor of Arts in English from Northern Arizona University where he cultivated his passion for brewing. In March of 1996, he began his professional brewing career at the now defunct Cervecerias La Cruda (The Hangover Brewery) in downtown San Diego. Tomme previously worked for White Labs and was the Head Brewer at Pizza Port in Solana Beach. Tomme joined Port Brewing in 2006 and in 2007 took home the GABF awards for Small Brewery of the Year and Small Brewer of the Year.
About Benjamin Weiss:
Benjamin is an alumnus of USC’s Marshall School of Business and spent the early part of his professional career working in business affairs and product development for several major record labels. He has been a part of Orange County’s The Bruery for three and a half years, having joined Patrick Rue’s team as the company’s second employee and original assistant brewer in 2008. Benjamin now manages The Bruery’s marketing, PR, sales and brand development where he has helped turn The Bruery into a household name within the craft beer industry.
About Ian McLean:
Best known as the creators of Monster Energy, McLean Design is a small but dynamic branding and packaging design firm that has helped build some of the world’s leading beverages. For over 20 years, founder Ian McLean has been involved in the creation and development of hundreds of national brands, many of them with powerful name recognition and enviable household penetration. Ian believes that effective consumer packaging cultivates meaningful connections between real-world products and the consumer’s elusive desire for an ever-improving lifestyle — a relationship that can only be encouraged, not exploited. Beverage clients include Nestle, Lipton, Pepsi-Cola Company, Coca-Cola Company, SoBe, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Beringer Blass, Hansen Beverage, Sunsweet, Muscle Milk, Tetley North America, and an array of wines and spirits.
About Mark Mitchell:
The Chief Creative Officer at Interrupt Marketing and Interact Packaging, Mark Mitchell’s chief ability is that he gets you jazzed about the endless opportunity — for anything. With more than 30 years of package design experience, he’s the visionary who shows you how much you (and your competitors) aren’t seeing. Then he formulates the riveting, big-gain ideas that overcome your business challenges. As a leading expert on package design, Mark has spoken at Expo West, The Emerging Food Entrepreneurial Forum, Automotive Aftermarket Council and Catalog Merchants Association. Interact Packaging focuses on package design and channel marketing to help its clients outperform their category on-shelf. Interact Packaging focuses on package design and channel marketing to help its clients outperform their category on shelf. Clients include Disney Food, Noble Juice, Tru Juice, Langer Juice, Beechnut, ISBRE Water, Schwebel Bread, Breyers Yogurt, Yo Crunch Yogurt, Hickory Farms, White Castle, Marzetti and Crystal Light.