089 - Q&A - 2025 Beer Branding Trends Edition

Points of discussion: — Read the 2025 Beer Branding Trends Report here: https://cododesign.com/2025-beer-branding-trends-review/ — Q1: How often do you think a brewery should be refreshing its packaging? You said every four or five years in the article, but what if things are going well by that time? Does it still make sense to refresh your packaging if sales are strong and you’re happy with how everything looks? Q2: You wrote about flat sales as a possible reason for a brand or package refresh, but what if your sales are in a state of rapid decline, say, 10 to 12% down each year since 2022? Q3: Is there a way to win in the lager segment today? It seems like Montucky and Garage Beer are so dominant that even larger craft breweries are behind the power curve. Is it worth it for a smaller brewery to attempt to play in this space right now? Q4: Thanks for including the Babe-centric thought here. This is something our (mostly female) marketing team has discussed a lot over the last year. Similar to your take, we’re not offended, but do wonder if the type of person that this resonates with is even be a craft beer drinker at all? Q5: What are your thoughts on the “bifurcation” trend. This looks great, but I see it everywhere. How do you guys handle it when a look like that makes sense for a brewery, but is super common in their market? Q6: What role do you see for Ai tools like Canva or Midjourney at smaller breweries with limited resources? Is this a great asset for them, or a major threat for in-house designers? Or, both? And maybe a related — or a bonus question? — what impact do you think this will have on the design industry? - Learn more at: www.craftbeerrebranded.com / http://www.beyondbeerbook.com - Have a topic or question you’d like us to field on the show? Shoot it our way: hello@cododesign.com - Join 8,000+ food and bev industry pros who are subscribed to the Beer Branding Trends Newsletter (and access all past issues) at: www.beerbrandingtrends.com