Jacob Betzner

Mountain Man Brewing Company Case Study

CHALLENGE

Faced with declining sales and a changing customer base, Mountain Man Brewing Company needs to decide whether or not to launch a Light version of the flagship Mountain Man Lager, potentially changing the perception of the Mountain Man Brewing Company brand.

STRATEGY

Through market research, financial projections based on the growth of the light beer market, and financial data, I determined best case and worst case scenarios for cannibalization and forecasted sales at different levels of cannibalization.

RESULTS

The expanded 2006–10 sales forecasts show Mountain Man Light Lager becoming profitable in the second year at no cannibalization, the third year at five percent cannibalization, the fourth year at 10 and 15 percent cannibalization and the fifth year at 20 percent cannibalization.

Though the numbers look at little discouraging at higher percentages of cannibalization, with a strong brand loyalty, I expect cannibalization to be on the lower end.

Marketing efforts for Mountain Man Light need to target a younger demographic, the fastest growing market for light beer.