BrewDog USA has announced a reorganized sales team structure ahead of 2024.
The U.S. branch of the Scotland-headquartered craft brewery will transition from a regional sales structure to a “more streamlined, divisional structure” with three divisions – Central, East and West – effective November 1, according to a press release.
“Our continued assessment of the marketplace identified an opportunity to create more value with both our wholesaler partners, as well as more effectively manage key retail and retailer partnerships for improved and consistent shared results,” BrewDog USA VP of sales Eric Franco said in the release. “It is the investment in the future we think will drive shared value for everyone involved.”
Each new division will be led by a director of commercial development:
- Mary Wieczerza (regional sales manager for the Great Lakes region) will lead the central division, covering the Midwest and the Plains;
- Brian Jones (regional sales manager for the Northeast region) will lead the east division, covering the East Coast as well as southeastern states (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee);
- Greg Salzenstein (director of Western U.S. sales) will lead the west division, covering Texas, Oklahoma and the West Coast.
With the shakeup BrewDog has also named three national account executives:
- Liz Steinmetz has been named national account executive for national retailers, as well as key central regional retailers;
- Chase Booth has been named national account executive for all Southeast and Mid-Atlantic chains;
- And Matt Bidinger has been named national account executive for national and regional accounts in the central and east divisions.
The sales team restructuring follows the appointment of John Graham as BrewDog USA CEO in April. It also comes as the U.S. branch of the business prepares for “a renewed focus on seasonal and non-alcoholic offerings” in 2024.
BrewDog’s NA portfolio has recorded triple-digit growth over the past year, according to the release. The craft brewery plans to continue that growth in 2024 with more NA offerings. Other 2024 innovations include seasonal variety packs, a cider variety pack and a low-calorie session tropical IPA.
BrewDog’s total U.S. volume is up +10% year-to-date, according to the release. In the last 52 weeks (through August 12), BrewDog dollar sales are up +17.9% year-over-year (YoY) in NIQ-tracked off-premise channels, while volume is up +15.4%, according to data shared by 3 Tier Beverages. Comparatively, dollar sales for the total beer category are up +3.1% YoY, while volume is down -2.7%.
Dollar sales for BrewDog’s NA mix pack – its top-selling NA offering and No. 2 overall offering – is up +189.1% YoY in the last 52 weeks, and +173.3% in the last four weeks.
“Our ‘2024 Range Plan’ reflects our approach of analyzing the market, adding continued innovation to our mix as well as aligning to retailer’s needs for incremental growth in the category,” Franco said in the release.