Natural ingredients, traditional brewing techniques and sustainable shipping practices have seen Moa Beer secure impressive deals with some of America’s top retail chains, according to Foodworks’s website.
The Marlborough craft brewery has secured nationwide beer distribution at Whole Foods, America’s largest organic supermarket chain, with more than 300 stores, of which 250 are licenced.
As a result of two US market visits by Moa General Manager Gareth Hughes in 2011 and early 2012, Moa has also won a high-value deal at the Yard House chain of restaurants and bars. The deal has been enabled in part by the company’s use of environmentally friendly recyclable “key kegs”.
The craft beer is also heading to Vegas – it will soon be served in some of Las Vegas’s top casinos.
Pure Advantage trustee and Moa Executive Chairman Geoff Ross says the brewer’s craft credentials attracted the suppliers – but its green credentials make it possible.
“Moa is a natural beer, with no chemicals or preservatives, which sits well with discerning Americans. The fact Moa is bottle-conditioned and fermented – just like beer used to be – means it travels well too.
“And the very fact it’s from New Zealand appeals to American consumers. They see New Zealand as a pure place which is ideal for brewing a natural beer.”
“While we do have challenges of distance in creating international business, we have advantages in our purity credentials – a ‘Pure Advantage’ most other countries don’t have. It gives us a competitive advantage – there is no way we could have secured these deals without it.
“The use of innovative new technology is also helping us conquer the challenges of distance, such as the environmentally-friendly key kegs,” Geoff says. “Moa is the first New Zealand brewery to export using these kegs and the benefits to our business will be huge, both in driving top line and reducing costs.”
More at Foodworks’s website
