2022 TRENDSETTERS
Over the last two years , tradiesturned-Instagram stars Jack Steele and Matt Ford ( pictured ), collectively known as The Inspired Unemployed , have accumulated millions of followers on social media thanks to their popular video skits . They have even become unlikely fashion icons , partnering with major brands such as Fendi and The Iconic and gracing the pages of Vogue and GQ magazine .
But for their latest venture , they are turning their attention to a category that is very close to their hearts : beer .
In collaboration with Torquay Beverage Company , majority owned by Mighty Craft , the comedic duo from Sydney ’ s South Coast have launched Better Beer , a zero carb , zero sugar beverage with 4.2 per cent ABV .
“ We ’ ve always wanted to have our own beer brand , I think every young Australian bloke does ,” Ford said . “ There are not many zero carb beers out there , so we thought ,‘ Stuff it , let ’ s make our own .’”
The better-for-you beer , targeting 18- to 40-year-olds , launched in November and sold out of stock in the first week , says Nick Cogger , founder of Torquay Beverage .
“ That was meant to last about two months at worst case – or best case depending what mood you are in ,” Cogger told Inside FMCG .
Partnership beginnings Cogger came across The Inspired Unemployed on social media back in 2019 and got in touch with them to promote his hard kombucha brand K . Booch . That same year , Mighty Craft ( then Founders First ) acquired Cogger ’ s business and it became known as Torquay Beverage Company .
“ I first saw them on Instagram dancing up the back streets of Kiama . The guys had a lot of courage and pretty good moves ,” Cogger recalled . “ I have only learnt in the past month I was the first brand owner to reach out to them , which is pretty cool .”
The Inspired Unemployed hold a 40 per cent stake in the new company , Better Brewing Co , with Torquay Beverage owning the remaining 60 per cent .
While Cogger runs the day-to-day operations , Ford and Steele have been heavily involved in decision-making and are using their platform to drive sales of Better Beer .
“ We ’ ve been involved in every minute decision from the start . Production , direction , branding , marketing strategy , website , merch , distribution – you name it , we ’ ve been there through it . Every single little detail we ’ ve been in this 50 / 50 with Nick ,” Ford said .
“ If they are putting their name to something , they want to make sure I don ’ t stuff it up ,” Cogger added .
Being an Australian-owned business when so many competitors are owned by large multinationals is expected to be a competitive advantage for the brand .
“ Currently in Australia , the top 20 brands by volume are all foreign owned . it ' s crazy ,” Cogger said . “ We want to be the brand that Aussies can call their own , We want to re-establish patriotism in beer .”
A beer for everyone GlobalData ’ s Q3 2016 global consumer survey found that 46 per cent of consumers are influenced by how a product will impact their health when shopping for alcoholic drinks .
For Torquay Beverage , the betterfor-you alcohol segment has always been a key focus , and Cogger is eager to meet consumer demand for a more healthconscious beer .
“ I felt like everyone was looking at seltzers and RTDs for ‘ better for you ’, where I felt the biggest opportunity was in mainstream beer . The incumbents are all almost 20 years old and don ’ t connect with a new consumer ,” he said .
Ford is hopeful that the healthconscious approach will appeal to men and women alike .
“ This beer is for everyone ,” he said . “ The demographic will [ likely ] be more male because they generally drink more beer , but we ’ re hoping that females will get around Better Beer , too .”
The team also plans to introduce a non-alcoholic beer in the near future , Cogger revealed exclusively to Inside FMCG .
“ Zero-alcohol beer is something that I personally want for home consumption . The question was do we do it fast , or do we do it right ,” Cogger said . “ We want to make the best quality beer that fits our values of ‘ better for you ’. We have found and developed a non-alcoholic beer to a world-class standard and we can ' t wait to bring this to life .”
No plans for DTC e-commerce Better Beer is available through BWS and Dan Murphy ’ s stores , and will also be available online through Jimmy Brings . Cogger said the focus would remain on distributing through retail partners , rather than building the brand its own e-commerce channel .
“ Margins on beer and cost of freight make [ DTC e-commerce ] a loss leader ,” he said .
“ Our partners have best-in-class online platforms and we will continue to drive our customers to these . We think we can sell a lot of merchandise and we plan to [ do so ] through our own Shopify account .”
The business is now focused on scaling up , with plans to introduce two new products to around 1500 retail outlets by February .
“ We have a pretty [ intense ] strategic plan for the next three months . We are also , through Mighty Craft , building our on-premise and keg business pretty aggressively ,” Cogger said .
“ In the mid term , we are desperate to get a presence in New Zealand and , from there , look at other markets where there is demand .” t