RUMSON, NJ – The Independent Brewers Alliance (IBA) is craft beer’s only member-owned cooperative. It’s currently made up of 35 breweries across the country who work together to save money on raw materials and operational expenses ranging from cans, kegs, chemicals, glassware, packaging and labels to office supplies and business insurance. It was founded in 2016 with the goal of helping member-brewers stay strong in what members all saw as an increasingly competitive marketplace.
That marketplace has just gotten a lot harder for everyone. In this current environment, a lot of brewers could use the help the IBA offers. To make membership easier for cash-strapped brewers the IBA is waiving all membership fees for 2020. This means free access for brewers to all our savings programs for the balance of this year. Plus, brewers have no obligation to pay anything in 2021 unless they want to continue to access the IBA’s programs. How much can members save? That depends on their size and what they’re paying now, but here’s a few examples of what some members saved in 2019 by participating in just one IBA savings program.
- $30,000 on labels – 6,000-barrel brewery in New York
- $20,000 on 12 oz. printed cans (with an option for inventory hold) – 7,500-barrel brewery in New Jersey
- $10,000 on chemicals – 5,000-barrel brewery in Michigan
- $7,000 on 16 oz. brites (with an option for inventory hold) – 4,500-barrel brewery in New York
- $11,000 in insurance premiums – 15,000-barrel brewery in DC
Since the IBA dropped it dues requirements two weeks ago, seven new brewery-members have signed up ranging in size from 1,000 to 18,000 barrels. And the IBA is in active discussions with a dozen more. That’s an unprecedented amount of brewer interest. And the more members the IBA has the better the deals it can negotiate with leading industry suppliers.
Interested brewers can learn more by contacting Matt Hopkins at matt@bewersalliance.org or 810.813.5021.
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