As a small business selling low-alcohol drinks, New Belgium Brewery depends to varying degrees on external factors. With the rapid development of technology, communications, and globalization processes, the activities of even local breweries are affected by the environment. The legal & regulatory forces that influence the company are the establishment of age for drinking and buying alcoholic beverages, taxation, and all sorts of business features, including government support in crises. Colorado is more open to small businesses than many others by not having to obtain several licenses, except for TTB and a Manufacturer’s License with the State of Colorado, which are supported by two additional documents when opening a direct point of sale (Laszlo, 2022). Since many decisions and rules depend on local authorities in America, this factor speaks in favor of the company’s activities.
Economic factors at the moment also speak in favor of this enterprise. Growth rates for craft beer reached 8% in 2021, while regular beer grew only 1% (Brewers Association, 2022). Occupying the niche of a regional craft brewer, New Belgium Brewery is part of the largest beer business sector that has been increasing sales despite the pandemic (Brewers Association, 2022). The main economic factor is the consequences of the spread of the virus, which led, on the one hand, to a drop in the purchasing power of citizens (Kaplan et al., 2022, 480). On the other hand, many people had significantly more free time, which affected leisure purchases and even prevailed over the outflow.
Information technology is being introduced into literally every business industry, and brewery is no exception. To remain competitive, companies are turning to cutting-edge bottled oxygen control with cameras and Watson algorithms on image-processing cloud storage (Bandoim, 2019). Sensors have been used at various stages of brewing for a long time, but the most promising areas are in the application of artificial intelligence (Bandoim, 2019). This technology can process much feedback, based on which manufacturers can create a new product.
Regarding social responsibility, which any company should be involved in today, New Belgium Brewery operates in several directions at once; they meet the requirements. The organization encourages inclusion and diversity, diverse LGBT communities, volunteer programs, and more (New Belgium Brewery, 2022). Moreover, New Belgium Brewery is committed to protecting the environment, climate, land, and water (New Belgium Brewery, 2022). With a clear commitment to community transformation, the company has achieved B Corp certification, essential to several consumers (New Belgium Brewery, 2022). Finally, the ethics of a brewery derive from the values expressed through consumers, employees, product quality, and the corresponding mood.
The company’s main competitors are Ballast Point Brewing Company, Deschutes, Bell’s, and Sierra Nevada Brewing. However, New Belgium Brewery ranks significantly higher in annual net revenue, earning around $200 million compared to 60-120 from competitors (Zoominfo, 2022). Consequently, the main issues of competitiveness are the ability to enter new markets, geographical expansion, and technological development. A potential option is to export products to neighboring countries, especially against the backdrop of increased consumption of Belgian craft and the development of this crop. Since the pandemic, many people have made a welcome return to bars, most of which are breweries the size of New Belgium Brewery. As a result, forecasts of the impact of external factors are optimistic for the company in the long run.
References
Bandoim, L. (2019). Brewery uses AI and IoT technology to improve the quality of beer, Forbes. Web.
Brewers Association. (2022). National beer sales & production data. Web.
Kaplan, S., Lefler, J., & Zilberman, D. (2022). The political economy of COVID‐19. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 44(1), 477-488. Web.
Laszlo, M. (2022). Starting a Colorado brewery? Here are the current timelines, LaszloLaw. Web.
New Belgium Brewery. (2022). Mission. Web.
Zoominfo. (2022). New Belgium Brewery. Web.