[TV3] Campbell Live - Epic Beer's hoppy brew an economic success

Across the board New Zealand companies are performing badly – shedding jobs in the process.

But not all businesses are performing badly, take Epic Beer for example – sales are up and demand is high.

The beer has been being made since 2006 and is definitely a labour of love.

The process for fermenting this malt-based is very labour-intensive but despite this things are going well – 200 percent growth in the last year.

But making beer has got more expensive, the price of hops has skyrocketed as has packaging and transport costs.

The major breweries are putting up their prices and so are Epic – the six pack is out and the four pack is in.

“The six pack was nearly at $20 which is a psychological barrier for a lot of consumers, so we decided we would keep the product affordable but make it a four pack,” says Epic Beer’s Luke Nicholas.

Things have come a long way since 1835 when New Zealand’s first commercial brewery was established – the major players now spend a fortune wooing their target audience.

Mr Nicholas cannot compete with the big-boys financially but is determined to remain independent.

He does not think the major brewers could afford him anyway.

“Probably not because I think any of the big brewers that would look for acquisition, would look at how much it would cost to make Epic and how much I have to spend on hops to get that flavour and go ‘that’s insane’.”

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