Mountain Man Brewing Co.

In 2006, Mountain Man Brewing Company, a family owned brewing company in West Virginia, was struggling to grow its business while staying true to its brand identity. Mountain Man was viewed as the tough man's beer. It had a very strong brand presence in its local/regional market, even being known as  "West Virginia's Beer." A typical Mountain Man customer was an older, rough, gritty, man's man, coal miner of a guy. He appreciated that his beer, the one he always drank, fit his personality and lifestyle.

With the younger son of the founder taking over MMBC from his father, he brought new ideas for how to grow the family business.

New Idea-- Introduce a new version of their signature beer, Mountain Man Light.

Pros

• gain share in on-premise locations where there are higher numbers of younger & female drinkers (not typically MM's strong customer segment)
• opportunity to attract the youthful & female segment with the "light" product description
• light beer (as a segment) is experiencing growth
• build on strength of brand & domestic packaging
• start building the MMBC brand loyalty at a much younger age (most beginning drinkers prefer lighter beers and then transition to darker beers over time)

Cons

• risk dilution of the brand
• risk alienating your current loyal customer base with the introduction of something that could be deemed threatening to their brand identification
• potential cannibalization (5%-20%) of light beer sales could come at the expense of the sales of their key lager
• expenses, start up costs, production costs
• risk of successfully acquiring the younger customer base and their willingness to accept the new MM image
• younger drinkers typically go for mass market brands

Overall, I think that there is more benefit to introducing the light beer vs not changing anything about the company at all. Companies must adapt and change with the times or they risk fading into oblivion. Not all products can stand the test of time. Although the West Virginia market is strong in its MMBC loyalty, the company can work on expanding its footprint outside the coal mining towns of the Appalachian Mountains by introducing a newer, lighter brew to the market.