Purchasing co-op Independent Brewers Alliance gets halfway to 1 million bbl buying power

Our pals at the Independent Brewers Alliance (IBA), a member-owned purchasing alliance for the craft beer industry, announced that its CBC recruitment program brought almost 200,000 barrels of new buying power to the group — and total purchasing power to over 420,000 barrels. At the outset, the group had a lofty goal of 1 million bbls.

“That’s some serious buying power for our members,” said IBA Executive Director, Fort Mendes. According to Fort, brewer interest at CBC was sparked by two things. “First, after 6 months in business, we have a proven track record of delivering bottom-line savings to members. Second, brewers who see slower growth ahead want to start reducing their costs of goods now. That’s exactly what purchasing cooperatives are all about. And this new buying power is only going to increase the value we can bring to both our members and our supplier-partners.”

After still more acquisitions by Big Beer, there is more motivation than ever among smaller brewers to try and gain a bigger presence at the bargaining table.

Those interested should head to the website right now and apply.

Quick co-op info

The Independent Brewers Alliance is a member-owned and managed purchasing cooperative. Its mission is to help member brewers work collaboratively to stay strong and thrive in this increasingly competitive industry — while staying completely independent. It works by leveraging the strength and resources of the group to negotiate discounts on materials like packaging, malt and cans and to reduce operational expenses like freight, warehouse supplies and credit card processing fees. You can also leverage the alliance’s buying power to help you save money on common business expenses ranging from freight and office supplies to credit card processing fees (these are going to be ready immediately).

What kind of discounts?

According to this handy and extensive Q&A on the organization’s website, “Savings will be anywhere between 3 and 20 percent depending upon which categories members decide to tackle. Keep in mind that all savings will most likely come in the form of end-of-year rebates and go straight to improving your bottom line profit.” And your rebate is proportional to your percentage of group purchases from that supplier. So, as an example, if you represent 10 percent of the alliance’s purchases from a certain supplier, you will get 10 percent of the alliance’s net member rebate from that supplier.

The Alliance will also help members work smarter by sharing industry trend and best practices information in the most needed areas. All membership costs are 100 percent refundable within the first 12 months if any member feels the alliance isn’t working for them.