Sometimes the best way to get someone’s attention is by shocking them.
And today, on International Beer Day, New Belgium Brewing Company is aiming to do just that.
To mark its flagship beer Fat Tire becoming the first nationally distributed U.S. beer to earn carbon-neutral certification, the company decided to adjust its pricing for 24 hours . . . to $100 per six-pack.
Most brands celebrate milestones with some discount promo hype, but here New Belgium is trying to make a point beyond itself. To give beer drinkers a peek at an impending—and expensive—future.
For Fechheimer, the $100 six-pack is a way to raise that awareness.
“Beer is just one of many industries that is heavily dependent on natural resources,” he says. “Water, wheat, barley, hops, citrus fruits—these are things with supply chains being impacted today, and that impacts the beer we can make and the price we can sell it for. It’s a problem, but it’s going to be a much bigger problem.”
To promote the new pricing and the issue behind it, the brand is taking out a full-page ad in The New York Times, reminiscent of another counterintuitive marketing move, Patagonia’s infamous “Don’t Buy This Jacket” ad ahead of Black Friday in 2011. Like the outdoor retailer, New Belgium is a B Corp that wears its concern for the environment on its beer-soaked sleeve. Since 1991, the company has become the first wind-powered brewery, producing its own electricity on-site through solar and biogas technology, as well as advocating for climate change action alongside groups such as Protect Our Winters.
“We’ve always been talking about [environmental issues], and I think our fans are appreciative of that and expect us to lead on it, and this is another step in that direction,” says Fechheimer. “I’ll tell you, though, there will be just as many people who are upset with us today about this. And that’s okay. This is who we are, this is important to us, and we’re not going to hide how climate change is impacting our business, or that we think this is a giant economic and environmental catastrophe heading for us all.”
“As we went through that process over the second half of last year, one of the things that was very important to us was joining someone who shared our convictions on these issues,” he says. “Lion has already made a lot of progress around carbon neutrality and have been leading on that and other issues in Australia.”
In terms of what being part of a larger company gives the brand right now, Fechheimer points to more financial flexibility and more time on campaigns and ideas like the $100 six-pack. “They’re hugely supportive of this,” he says. “They basically ask, ‘How do we help you do this?’ And we’ve been able to move quicker on this than we would’ve been able to had we remained independent.”
Now, to avoid living in a world where every six-pack costs $100 every day, the company’s awareness campaign (created with agency Red & Co) is going beyond just International Beer Day, with a new information and education site called DrinkSustainably.com.
“This isn’t normally what International Beer Day is all about, but we thought this year was a time to rebrand this day a bit and show as an industry how we can have a larger impact,” says Fechheimer. “It’s just a reframing of what’s still a very fun day.”