Risk & Business Magazine Miller Insurance Fall 2017 | Page 6

WOODHOUSE BREWERY
Woodhouse
Brewery Gaining
A Name For Itself
G
raham Woodhouse got
his start in the brewing
business working at Labatt
and soon decided to use
his entrepreneurial skills to
become a brewer himself. He spent some
time researching how to get started—
where to source materials, packaging
requirements, licensing processes, and
recipes. He had previously done some
home-style brewing and knew he was
looking to create a flagship beer that was
smooth, easy to drink, and rich in colour.
Since the launch of Graham’s first product
in 2014, his eponymous company has
launched four additional beers, capturing
the interest of the Toronto restaurant and
bar scene with its thousands of patrons. All
of the company’s products are 100 percent
natural, using no artificial additives or
preservatives. Although the company
currently rents space in other Toronto
facilities, it plans to break ground on a new
space within the next twelve to eighteen
months.
Graham skipped the conventional
marketing and advertising route,
preferring a grassroots effort, knocking
on doors and asking bar and restaurant
owners to sample his products. He
focused his attention on certain trendy
neighborhoods within the city, hoping the
novelty and taste of his beer would quickly
catch on. The effort was time-consuming,
but it paid off big as his bar and restaurant
clientele grew to nearly four hundred.
Graham is now marketing the company’s
products outside Toronto, branching out
into Ottawa and London, and possibly
additional cities down the road.
In 2016, he launched into the retail
channel—which is government owned—
and now has his product in about 150 retail
locations. Each new location requires
a personal sales visit from Graham to
introduce staff to his products and try to
get them onboard as advocates.
“It’s great entering retail as a novelty
product—people want to give it a try to
see if it will catch on,” says Graham. “The
“All of the company’s products are
100 percent natural, using no
artificial additives or preservatives.”
6
challenge is to get people to come back for
more after that initial purchase.” His goal
is to continue to increase his retail business
so that it eventually comprises about half
of sales. From the company’s inception,
Graham has financed everything on his
own, particularly impressive in light of the
brewery’s strong growth trajectory.
Having the proper insurance is critical
to his operation, says Graham, especially
now with seven employees and multiple
vehicles on the road. He depends heavily
on his insurance agent, Tyler Hopkins of
Miller Insurance, to protect his business.
Graham’s risks include everything from
cutting his hand on a beer can to getting
a batch of bad ingredients. Tyler checks in
regularly with Graham as the business has
grown, making sure the brewery’s policy
is adequate to cover the increasing size of
inventory, the four-vehicle fleet, potential
cyber-attacks, tools and equipment, and
risks such as product recall and stock
spoilage.
Graham, busy both on the road with
customers and working on novelty product
development, is happy to have Tyler in his
corner to take care of the insurance details.
“I have enough to do without worrying
about everything that could go wrong,” he
says. “That’s why I have Tyler.” +