Small business owners in the Adirondack
Park face many challenges such as limited cell phone and Internet access, extreme
seasonality in visitor traffic, and remote locations. Despite these challenges,
many businesses are still able to prosper in the park by using the main thing
they have going for them: their location. By utilizing the picturesque image of
the Adirondack Park in their branding, small businesses can set themselves
apart from large competitors who are able to advertise on a national scale and create
the same product at a lower cost.
One business that has been incredibly
successful at integrating the Adirondacks into its brand image is Lake Placid
Pub & Brewery. By including a photo of a red Adirondack chair and the
outline of Whiteface in their logo, the brewery associates itself with the
serene and welcoming nature of the Adirondacks. Owner Chris Ericson notes that he
and his business partner decided to tie the brew-pub to the quaint Adirondack
town of Lake Placid to take advantage of the appeal of a small-town brewery in
an open market. As their business continued to grow, Lake Placid Craft Brewing
entered a partnership with the larger and more established Matt Brewing Company of
Utica in 2007. While the partnership
expands the distribution capabilities of Lake Placid Brewing, some craft beer
enthusiasts felt it diminished the local appeal of the brewery,
highlighting the significance of the Adirondack brand to the success of the
business.
Matt Brewery also utilizes the image of
the Adirondacks in their most popular line “Saranac Beers” named after Saranac
Lake. Despite the brewery’s location outside the Adirondack Park in Utica, the
Saranac brand revolves around the park’s image. From their logo that includes a
picturesque watercolor of an Adirondack lake to their slogan “The Spirit of the
Adirondacks,” every aspect of the brand conjures up the image of a beautiful
summer day in the park. Matt Brewery’s other line of beers “Utica Club” is far
less popular compared to the Saranac line. There are many other
factors that could result in this disparity between the two brands, but it
certainly makes me question if the Adirondack image is the reason for the brand’s
success. It also makes me wonder, do consumers care if the product truly comes
from the Adirondacks, or is the image alone and the fact that they “brew
[their] beers from the water that flows from the Adirondacks and the grains
that grow in its soil” close enough?
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| Source: ubuale.com |
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| Source: beerpulse.com |
"New Business Models for the Adirondacks: Lake Placid Pub and Brewery" by Ken Brown (Adirondack Journal of Environmental Studies)
Saranac.com
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ReplyDeleteTo answer your question, I think the brewery's location and what it represents are important, but I do not think that either consistently indicates that a beer is local, which in my opinion takes away from the appeal of the beer. The Saranac Brewery represents the park but is not located in the Adirondacks, which makes the Lake Placid Company ostensibly more appealing. The Lake Placid Craft Brewing Company is unique because it is located within the park. Not only does the brewery capture the essence of the park, but it is the park. Regional water and soil are used to brew the beer and grow hops and grains and community members benefit from the job employment opportunities offered by the brewery and pub.
Unfortunately, the problem with these local companies is that, like all companies, they are searching for more profits and therefore expansion and partnership opportunities with larger brewing companies. The Lake Placid Brewery, like you said, has partnered with Matt Brewing Co. of Utica, NY, the brewers of Saranac beers and now, beer produced for the Lake Placid Craft Brewing Company is brewed and packaged at Matt Brewing. This has helped the Lake Placid brewers expand distribution of their product but the idea of being a local beer is partially lost. Although the original brewery in Lake Placid is still fully functioning, there is no guarantee that every Lake Placid beer consumed is actually from the Adirondacks. Many are still inclined however, to feel they are helping the local economy by buying local beer (myself included), so the realization that this is not always the case is disappointing. Thus, the Lake Placid Brewery, despite being in the park, is not that different from the Saranac Brewery as both represent the park, but neither is entirely local.