New craft beer purchasing alliance now accepting applications

You may recall a feature we posted in May about a grassroots campaign to get a craft brewing purchasing co-op up and running. The goal of those meetings at the CBC was to gauge interest among brewers in joining together to build economies of scale and improve their purchasing power, as well as explore the types of products and services they’d be most interested in trying to purchase through such a group. If you missed it, definitely go back and dive in. If you didn’t miss it, and have been pining for an update, get pumped:

The Independent Brewers Alliance is officially launching, and its first open enrollment period runs from now through Sept. 30. Early joiners benefit from immediate savings on operational expenses, a 12-month risk-free trial period and the option to help set direction in the categories targeted, supplier selection and discount programs. Member participation in any and all programs is completely voluntary. Members choose only programs that are right for them.

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% 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.