Coopers Brewery is planning to double its beer exports to the United States in 2009-10.
It now has two people working in the US to promote Coopers’ beers after reaching agreement with Coopers’ American importer, Priess Imports.
Coopers Marketing Director and Chairman, Glenn Cooper, said that Coopers’ Export Manager, Terry Miniken, had joined Priess as its Regional Manager for the East Coast of the US, with responsibility for the Coopers brand.
He will also coordinate other Coopers export activities. Another expatriate Australian, Michael Cameron, had also been employed by Priess as its National Beer Manager for the West Coast.
“The arrangements mean that Coopers effectively has two people on the ground working to develop the Coopers brand in the US, in conjunction with Priess,” Mr Cooper said.
“We see this as a great opportunity for us and one that will enable Coopers to make strong inroads into the craft beer market, the fastest growing sector of the alcohol market in America.”
Mr Cooper said beer exports globally currently made up about 3% of total sales for Coopers, but anticipated this figure could rise to 8% within five years.
“In the next 12 months, we are looking to increase sales in the US by another 140,000 cases a year,” he said.
“A number of new shipping and warehousing arrangements have also been put in place in the US which will help remove some of the internal transport costs and stabilise price differences between the East and West coasts.”
Mr Miniken, who has worked in the US for Coopers for the past 12 months, said there was a lot of interest in Coopers Pale Ale, Coopers Sparkling Ale, Coopers Stout and Coopers Vintage Ale across America.
“The Americans particularly like the fact that Coopers is still family owned after five generations, they enjoy the prominent kangaroo on the bottle’s neck label and they love the fact that the beers are made without preservatives or additives,” he said.
“There is also strong demand from Australian expats and visitors to the US who search out where Coopers is sold to get a taste of home.
“Coopers is available in major cities across the US including New York, where it is sold in such outlets as the Australian Bar, Eight Mile Creek, Bondi Road, Sun Burned Cow, Sheep Station, Wombat, and Gingerman. It is also sold in Outback Steakhouse across America.
“The craft beer market is the fastest growing sector in the American alcohol market and Coopers positions itself well in this sector.”
Mr Cooper said the American craft beer market was enormous. “By concentrating on the craft sector, we are confident we can achieve strong growth, making the US a valuable contributor to Coopers’ overall sales,” he said.