Forty-nine states down, one to go.
This July, Green Flash Brewing Co. will expand distribution to Hawaii, per an exclusive agreement with Paradise Beverages Inc. (Par Bev), leaving only one state, Utah, standing in its way of becoming a fully fledged national brand.
Despite its reputation as a bona fide paradise, and being about as geographically close as is possible to the brewery’s San Diego home, breaking into Hawaii proved a “tricky” task for the brewery, said Jim Kenny, the company’s vice president of sales, back in November.
One of the biggest obstacles to be hurdled on the way into the market was the process of securing refrigeration for 100 percent of the freight that the brewery plans to distribute to Hawaii.
“The challenge in shipping to Hawaii was securing refrigerated freight,” Kenny told Brewbound in an email. “That problem has been resolved, the team has found a solution and we are thrilled to be entering the market.”
Now that the brewery has a found a solution in the form of Par Bev’s refrigerated containers, Thom Cornog, the craft beer sales manager with the wholesaler thinks that Green Flash is poised to sell “exceptionally” across the Islands of Aloha.
“It’s great having a powerhouse like Green Flash join our portfolio,” he said. “The demand is out there. I’d say I’ve probably gotten calls probably once every two weeks just asking us to bring them in, which is common with a lot of craft breweries across the United States, but this one kind of stood out more than others.”
Par Bev will distribute Green Flash’s entire portfolio — which was recently given a packaging redesign — both on draft and in bottles throughout the state. The price point for Green Flash’s beers, added Cornog, will run “a buck or two” more than it is on the mainland, though he added that the uptick in cost is common in Hawaii.
Cornog said he anticipates placing his first order by the end of this week.
“I can’t wait to see it in the grocery store and buy it myself instead of having to go over a friends house who, not necessarily legally — we call it contraband — brought it back in their suitcase.”
As far as Utah and rounding out its national footprint goes, Green Flash is currently “finalizing all plans” to enter the lone state bereft of Palate Wrecker and its other brews within approximately four weeks, added Kenny.
Additionally, Green Flash has plans to open its second facility, a $20 million brewery in Virginia Beach, Va., which will be capable of scaling production to 100,000 barrels per year, by 2016.