The 2025 plan for Stone Brewing is addition by subtraction, discontinuing several “unproductive” brands and packages nationally, including special releases, the Enjoy By IPA series and large-format bottles in order to put a heavy emphasis on core brands, as well the expansion of newish lager brands.
Stone, which is now under Japanese beer giant Sapporo’s ownership, will lean on its core portfolio – Stone IPA, Stone Delicious, Buenaveza Mexican-style lager and the recently launched Stone Pilsner – as well as its 6- and 12-pack cans packages next year.
“Prioritizing focus on fewer but bigger opportunities is the right strategy in an environment that is filled with doubt and incredibly crowded beer shelves,” chief revenue officer Tom McReavy said during a presentation to the San Diego-based craft brewery’s distributor partners.
The attention on Stone’s core beer business comes as those offerings have posted +4.7% off-premise dollar sales growth during the rolling 52-week period ending September 1, outperforming the craft segment, the beer category and Stone’s broader portfolio, according to NIQ data cited by Sapporo-Stone CEO Zach Keeling.
“It proves the brand strength of Stone, and it proves what can happen when we focus on bigger, bolder bets,” he said.
Keeling recapped the brewery’s progress on its 2024 goals, including an +8% increase in 12-pack can velocity compared to last year, +27% dollar sales growth for the Delicious IPA brand family, and a +20% increase in mixed 12-pack can distribution.
Stone’s on-premise volume also grew +14% in the 12-week period ending July 13, per CGA data shared by Keeling. And the brand also possesses two top 10 craft innovations this year with the Delicious mixed 12-pack and Delicious Hazy IPA can 6-packs.
However, Stone’s core brands have room to grow compared to its top craft competitors. McReavy acknowledged that Stone “lags” its competition “significantly in terms of total distribution points” for its core offerings. For example, Stone is in about 16,000 stores, compared to 35,000 for New Belgium, 29,000 for Sierra Nevada, 25,000 for Lagunitas and 18,000 for Bell’s Brewery, according to NIQ data for the 52-week period ending September 14, shared by Stone.
Closing those gaps for its core beer brands and packages will be key to the company’s 2025 success, McReavy said.
“The Stone brand, simply put, deserves to have equal footing with our competitive set on a distribution basis nationally,” he said.
So what’s new for 2025?
Stone Pilsner to Go National
Stone Pilsner, which launched in the company’s core Southern California market earlier this year, will go nationwide in 2025.
The 4.7% ABV lager is already a top three best-selling beer in Stone’s Bistros and restaurants in San Diego and Los Angeles, and the company sees an opportunity to go big in the $70 million craft pilsner segment, which is growing +5% in off-premise chain scan data.
The competition in the craft pilsner segment appears to be wide open, with the top craft pilsner holding around 6% share and 16 other brands with at least a 1% share.
“There currently isn’t a clear winner in craft pilsner, and we feel that this is a huge opportunity to leverage who Stone is, and make sure that we get out there and win in this space,” McReavy said.
How big of an opportunity? Potentially 250,000 case equivalents in Year One, the company said.
Stone Pilsner will begin shipping in December in 6- and 12-pack cans, as well as kegs. It will be line-priced with Stone’s other core offerings.
Buenaveza 12-Packs Get a Makeover
Stone is refreshing the packaging of its Mexican-style lager brand Buenaveza, which has become a top 3 brand in its portfolio, trailing Stone IPA and Delicious. It’s also the brewery’s No. 1 brand on draft.
“We know that this beer crushes on draft, but really outside of California and our home market, we’ve struggled to get this packaged beer to move at the velocity that we want, and we know that it can,” McReavy said.
The new look makes the sugar skull logo the hero image on the pack, while removing call outs for “salt & lime” and “imported from San Diego,” which were confusing Stone’s consumers.
The new packs will show up on retail shelves in early 2025, and McReavy sees “another massive distribution opportunity” for Stone in both the on- and off-premise channels.
Stone Adding Delicious Hazy IPA Can 12-Packs
Stone Delicious Hazy IPA will receive an additional package format next year with the introduction of 12-pack cans.
Delicious Hazy IPA launched in 6-pack cans and on draft, as well as in the Delicious variety pack earlier this year. The beer has already received “a massive sampling opportunity this year” via a national campaign and featured mandate in Buffalo Wild Wings stores, McReavy said.
“It’s doing incredibly well for us on a national basis,” McReavy said. “And we’re super excited to bring Delicious Hazy IPA to consumers in every pack type in 2025.”
Enjoy By and Special Releases Discontinued Nationally, Will Live on Locally
Stone will pull back distribution of the Enjoy By line of IPAs and special releases to its home markets of San Diego and Los Angeles, McReavy told Brewbound.
“It’s pretty tough for our distributor partner to really get behind supporting beer that literally has a drop dead date,” he said.
Keeling added that the national pullback doesn’t signal a retreat from innovation for Stone.
“Instead of doing six beers across a special release program, how can we do big bets like Pilsner and really build tentpole brands underneath Stone, rather than these programs that get unwieldy, and there’s nothing to really hang your hat on the next year,” he said.
Depending on the market, Stone releases three to four Enjoy By beers annually, as well as about eight special releases.
For 2024, Stone’s limited-release lineup featured Stone Ruination IPA, Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Black IPA, Double Bastard, Stone Zumology IPA, Stone 28th Anniversary Hazy Double IPA and Stone Imperial Stout.
Offerings being retrenched will be available via direct-to-consumer online retail with shipments going to California, Virginia, Ohio and Washington, D.C.
Stone is also pulling back from its bottle portfolio, with 12-pack bottles of Delicious and Buenaveza discontinued on a national level.
Year-round releases such as Angry Bastard Ale and Fear Movie Lions hazy double IPA will continue.
“It’s more the breadth of SKUs that we’re talking about here, rather than the deepness and richness of a brand that we’re getting rid of,” Keeling told Brewbound.