Spoetzl Brewery’s Shiner Beer launched its first new brand platform in five years last week, with a campaign to make Shiner a part of modern Texas culture, according to AdWeek.
The “Say it With Shiner” campaign debuted with a 90-second video set to Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears’ “Five Dollars” featuring Formula 1 race cars, beer-loving aliens, and Austin’s famous la Barbecue. Musician Black Joe Lewis, la Barbecue owners LeAnn Mueller and Ali Clem, and pro-golfer and LGBTQ+ activist Tisha Alyn were among the local celebrities making cameos in the spot.
The move aims to align the company with the current culture of Texas, Micky Ogando, CEO and chief creative of Austin-based advertising agency Bakery told AdWeek. He pointed to Texas-born celebrities Travis Scott, Beyoncé and Post Malone as a representation of how the state has become younger and more diverse.
“It’s celebrating this new culture of Texas that is more diverse and more inclusive, but just as friendly and just as neighborly,” Matt Pechman, chief marketing officer at Shiner parent company Gambrinus, told AdWeek. “Bringing to life the best of Texas across these cultural moments that any Texan, former Texan or frankly anyone across the country that has that similar outlook on life is immediately going to recognize that as being part of the best of the Texas experience.
“[Shiner is] a brand with 112 years of amazing history. But if you aren’t staying on the front edge of culture, you risk becoming your dad’s beer,” he continued. “We want to create that beer that transcends generations, and remains culturally relevant to this most recent generation of legal drinking age consumers.
This is the first brand campaign since Spoetzl named Bakery its agency of record in December. Bakery took over for The Richards Group, which Spoetzl broke ties with in October 2020 following racist remarks by the agency’s founder, according to AdWeek.
Gopuff Acquires UK’s Dija
The e-commerce convenience store delivery platform Gopuff has acquired London-based on-demand grocery startup Dija, the company announced last week.
Through the acquisition — as well as the recent purchase of UK-based delivery platform Fancy — Gopuff plans to operate in France, Spain, and the UK with 40 micro-fulfillment centers and 200 employees, with “additional plans for continued, rapid expansion,” according to the press release. Dija operates dozens of micro-fulfillment centers across Europe, including London, Paris, Madrid, and Valencia.
“Combining Dija’s team of industry veterans, extensive infrastructure, and local expertise will complement Gopuff’s proprietary technology and unique customer experience, and advance our ability to scale rapidly as we create a leading platform in Europe,” Daniel Folkman, Gopuff’s senior vice president of business, said in the release. “Together, we will continue to innovate and define the ‘instant needs’ economy across Europe and bring the category to more customers in the region.”
Dija will continue to operate under the Dija name until the two companies create an integration plan. Its founders Alberto Menolascina and Yusuf Saban will continue with the company, while investors and founders will gain equity in Gopuff and all current Dija employees will keep their jobs, according to Sifted.
The transaction is expected to close within 30 days.
Gopuff is currently valued at $15 billion and recently closed a fundraising round of $1.15 billion that will be used in part for European expansion, according to CNBC.
New Hampshire’s Oddball Brewing Put Up for Sale
Oddball Brewing in Suncook, New Hampshire, has been put up for sale, Concord Monitor reported last week.
Citing financial concerns and personal reasons, co-founders Bill Walden and Mark Ferguson listed the brewery for $295,000 — enough for the duo to “make [their] money back,” according to Walden.
“I cannot put the manpower in,” Walden told the Monitor. “We’re only working to one-third, maybe half capacity. Everything is paid off, and we own everything, but there’s no foreseeable future where we can be here all the time.”
Walden and Ferguson founded Oddball in 2014, opening its taproom on Glass Street a year later. The facility seats up to 25 people and produces about 150-200 barrels a year, according to New Hampshire Magazine.
Charlotte’s NoDa Brewing To Invest $4 million in Flagship Location
NoDa Brewing Company plans to invest $4 million to expand its flagship location in Charlotte, North Carolina, the Charlotte Business Journal (CBJ) reported.
The 16,000 sq. ft. expansion, which is set to begin in December, will streamline production and distribution capabilities, allowing for additional cold storage and can storage space. The facility — which produces 95% of NoDa’s beers, 70% of which are in cans — has relied on on-site can storage for the past three years, NoDa co-founder Todd Ford told CBJ.
NoDa will convert about 4,500 sq. ft. of cold storage space into an event space. It will also expand its beer garden by 30% and add 70 new spaces to its parking lot.
Last year, NoDa invested $2 million in equipment to expand its production capacity by 40%. Ford told CBJ he expects NoDa to brew 20,000 barrels this year, adding he would be “disappointed” if the company did not grow 10% to 15% annually over the next few years.
In addition to its Tryon Street location, NoDa operates “The OG” taproom on North Davidson Street and an outpost at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
Charlotte Officials Approve Olde Mecklenburg Brewery Expansion Plans
City officials in Mount Holly, North Carolina, approved expansion plans for The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery last week, according to the Charlotte Business Journal.
The company will build a 5,000 sq. ft. restaurant and beer garden along the Catawba River, following the planned purchase of a former water-treatment facility. An additional 12,000 sq. ft. building will be used as a warehouse and possible future event space.
“Olde Meck” will invest $4.3 million in the project, according to CBJ. The brewery operates a beer house and beer garden in the South End neighborhood of Charlotte, and is in the planning phases for a multimillion-dollar, 24-acre facility in Cornelius.