Pioneering New Markets

Abstract

This paper reports a case study of SevenBräu, the first company to acquire a license for small and medium scale beer manufacturing in Korea. This study explores how SevenBräu analyzed its consumers, competition, and environment to set its target market and successfully positioned itself to explore new markets in Korea. The company accomplished this through a mixture of marketing strategies with differentiated products and consumer benefits. SevenBräu has been growing fast and establishing its image as a “high-quality craft beer locally produced in a traditional way” and a “beer with regional characteristics,” with young consumers (aged 20 to 35) as the main target. Such remarkable growth of SevenBräu can be attributed to factors such as: (1) product differentiation to satisfy the needs of consumers for taste, flavor, diversity, and freshness, (2) developing brands with regional characteristics and actively communicating its strategy through earned and owned media, and (3) sustainable management, considering both social value creation and environmental performance. Lastly, this case study presents challenges in the areas of brand management, value delivery network, and communication that SevenBräu needs to address in the beer market that faces increasing competition.

Keywords

• beer industry
• craft beer
• consumer trend
• product differentiation
• brand communication