I logged 10,000-15,000 steps for each of the three days of Pack Expo Las Vegas 2017, talked to dozens of OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), and heard the word “solutions” more times than you ever will outside your high school chemistry classroom. I learned plenty about new technologies and offerings for craft brewers, which will appear in several articles on CraftBrewingBusiness.com, but I detected one unexpected but significant trend that I believe means good news for craft beer.
What was that trend? Fewer OEMs brought their craft beer-focused products to the show.
Why, you might ask, is this good news for the craft beer industry?
It boils down to the reason they weren’t as craft focused. Namely, they learned last year (which I also covered for CraftBrewingBusiness.com) that not a lot of craft brewers attend Pack Expo—especially compared with how many brewers attend the Craft Brewers Conference (CBC).
Many OEMs told me they were thus planning to go to CBC and/or regional brewers conferences.
That is, if you’re a craft brewer, the OEMs are planning to come to you. Check out the full article to learn more.
If you’re an OEM wanting to target craft brewers, contact me and we can discuss ways to shape your message so brewers can hear it.
