Trade Lead: Help Identifying Distributors

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by youradhere, Jul 11, 2015.

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  1. youradhere

    youradhere Initiate (0) Feb 29, 2008 Washington

    I'm not sure if it would be more apropos to have an "official" BA account, but I'm experimenting so bear with me.

    I am in fact an International Trade Specialist with the U.S. Commercial Service (DoC), and occasionally get to draw on my beer hobby to help US exporters (helping US exporters is my day job of course).

    I've recently had an uptick of international interest in US beer; specifically I have a trade lead that wants US beer. I've already reached out to one craft brewery and am awaiting their interest, and related to that the trade lead in question (buyer in Morocco) wants PBR, Blue Moon, and Yuengling. I've tried to convince the buyer he should go for good beer instead, along the lines of the other craft brewer, but he is adamant for the other 3.

    Any of you in the beer industry know how to get in contact with the appropriate sales channels for those other macro brewers? Just BM me and I'll send you my official .gov email to begin communications.

    Mods- sorry if this is not appropriate for the forum, I'm not selling anything and figure it is for the greater good for US business and US craft in general, so there is no harm that I can see.
     
    #1 youradhere, Jul 11, 2015
  2. jesskidden

    jesskidden Grand Pooh-Bah (3,145) Aug 10, 2005 New Jersey
    Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    In most states, by law, a distributor can only sell to an in-state licensed retailer, so it's unlikely you'll find a distributor that will sell beer in bulk for export. Chances are good, too, that the brewery would not appreciate a third party exporting its beer without the brewery's agreement.

    The craft-brewer oriented Brewers Association has an Export department - https://www.brewersassociation.org/business-tools/exporting-beer/join-the-edp/ that might be able to help but of the 3 brands you list, only Yuengling is considered a "Craft" brewer (and probably unlikely they're looking for foreign markets).

    For the other two brands, obviously, you'd want to contact Pabst and MolsonCoors.
     
    #2 jesskidden, Jul 11, 2015
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  3. eb1610

    eb1610 Savant (1,227) Jan 3, 2014 Massachusetts
    Trader

    For the Blue Moon you might want to reach out to Tenth and Blake as well
     
    #3 eb1610, Jul 11, 2015
  4. BBThunderbolt

    BBThunderbolt Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,846) Sep 24, 2007 Kiribati
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Well, FWIW, there is a guy in WA who supplies some of our regional breweries with plastic kegs, which he then sends to Japan. So, there might be some interest, especially if the effort on the breweries end is minimal. I would suggest reaching out to a few breweries and judging their feedback. Personally, I think some of the larger craft breweries might have a bit of interest.
     
    #4 BBThunderbolt, Jul 11, 2015
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  5. youradhere

    youradhere Initiate (0) Feb 29, 2008 Washington

    @jesskidden @beertunes thanks guys, I'll pursue both these avenues as the buyer honestly wants macro with the exception of one craft he identified specifically.
     
    #5 youradhere, Jul 12, 2015
  6. hopnado

    hopnado Initiate (0) Aug 13, 2014 Michigan

    Hopefully you can get as much Blue Moon out of the country as possible! :grinning:
     
    #6 hopnado, Jul 12, 2015
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  7. sharpski

    sharpski Grand Pooh-Bah (3,100) Oct 11, 2010 Oregon
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    I'd be shocked if the macros didn't have distributors in whatever country to which they wish to export, and they'll have paid for the right to be conduit for the beer instead of your lead.
     
    #7 sharpski, Jul 12, 2015
  8. KeithE

    KeithE Initiate (0) Sep 10, 2013 Illinois

    Good luck your attempt to get them good beer, but honestly I'm not sure if people there would even like craft beer because most the lagers they drink are quite different. I was in several places in Africa this year and the number one beer there is Guinness. You might see Heineken and a few European imports as well, but the distribution of imported beer there is limited. Interestingly at one of the places we stayed at I met a former CEO of a very large brewery and while on vacation he was making pointers to his children how to look for needs in various countries and find ways to solve them with products and services they could provide.
     
    #8 KeithE, Jul 12, 2015
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