The sign of the New Times in craft brewing: redundancies

Craft breweries are facing slowing growth in the US. After years of two digit growth rates, long-established craft brewers are facing stiff competition from an explosion of small breweries to over 5000 and behemoth brands that have refreshed their offerings to compete.

“2015 seemed to be the first year that growth may be reaching a plateau,” said Nick Petrillo, senior analyst at IBISWorld. During the first half of 2016, craft beer sales rose by 8 percent only, according to the Brewers Association.

Market research company Nielsen’s so-called “off-trade” data, which cover about two-thirds of the overall US beer market, showed that craft beer sales rose 4.2 percent in 2016.

Californian craft brewer Stone, which ranked 10th among US craft brewers and raked in more than USD 200 million in sales in 2016, has responded to market pressures by laying off about 60 employees in October. That’s roughly 5 percent of its 1,200-employee workforce, it was reported.

Dominic Engels, who took over as CEO of Stone from founder Greg Koch in September, was quoted as saying: “With business and the market now less predictable we must restructure to preserve a healthy future for our company.”

“Restructuring was a necessary course correction we needed to do to match our growth trajectory and spending trajectory,” he said. “Pressures from Big Beer are a reality in the craft industry and will continue to impact the industry's growth.”